Political and Statistical
THE HONOURABLE
MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE.
DEAR SIR,
While translating the following history, I frequently reflected that whatever leisure and opportunity I possessed, for accomplishing this task, had chiefly arisen from the liberality of public measures, and the impartiality of private patronage, during your government at Bombay. To no one so appropriately as you, therefore, could I dedicate these pages; and, while I feel gratified in giving testimony to the utility of encouraging individuals, disposed to study the languages of the East, I am sensible that few can better judge the imperfections of my present undertaking than yourself. I fear to offend your delicacy of sentiment, by speaking of public principle in the language of eulogium; but I should ill consult the interests of the public service, or appreciate my own feelings, could I be silent, after having obtained the situation I lately held, for no other reason than having complied with the terms of your government orders, promulgated to promote the study of oriental languages among the Europeans.
Though the acquirement of these, and the cultivation of oriental literature, may be of use, in enlarging our views of general history and geography, they serve a yet more important purpose, in this country, by removing the prejudices of early education, by interesting the feelings of Europeans for the welfare of Asiatics, and disposing the former to treat as equals those whom they had been taught to consider as inferiors. These advantages were duly estimated by your administration: during which to have possessed such acquirement was to obtain reward. Every good government will keep sight of such enlightened policy, if it regards the efficiency of its servants, or the happiness of its subjects; though I regret to observe an ill-judged economy, in this matter, has been of late ordered by authority from home. The love of distinction is, with some, a more powerful incitement to exertion than even the hope of emolument; and for such the establishment of the Royal Asiatic Society and Oriental Translation Fund holds out powerful inducements; but, with the majority, the last will be found to be the more influential passion, and should be turned to good account by rulers, who wish to conciliate a conquered people.
In ascribing this much to you, I must not forget what I owe to your successors, for having afforded me every facility in completing the present translation. The late Sir John Malcolm, who had himself so successfully cultivated oriental literature, and was ready to encourage others, placed at my command the services of the native whom I mention in the preface; and I am under similar obligations to the Right Ho nourable the Earl of Clare.
It is incumbent on us, as rulers of India, to possess an accurate knowledge of its customs, manners, religious opinions, history, and commerce; and regarding the early state of such there is yet a wide field of interesting research. The influence of the Greek kingdom of Bactria on Sanskrit literature; the knowledge which the Romans possessed of India, and the state of their commerce with the country; the intercourse of the primitive Arabs and eastern Christians with the Hindús; the incorporation of foreign tribes with the aborigines; the institutions of their civil society; and rules of their military policy, are subjects of intense interest, that may be successfully elucidated by closely studying the Greek and Roman authors, in connexion with Sanskrit literature, and the historical and geographical books in Arabic and Persian. In the introduction, prefixed to the following translation, I have endeavoured to clear up the obscurity that exists in one portion of Indian history; and, if such obtain your approbation, it will gratify,
Dear Sir,
Your obedient servant,
JAMES BIRD.
London, 1st September, 1834.
MOHAMMEDAN historians generally tire the patience of the reader by too minute a detail of sieges and battles, of murder and intrigue, without relieving the fatiguing sameness of their narratives, by the more pleasing and instructive accounts of individual character, or the policy and domestic manners of a people. The author of the “Mirát Ahmadí,” who gives us a political and statistical history of the Gujarát province, must be exempted from this general censure. He commences with the early history of the country, under the Hindú Rájás, in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, centuries of our era; and has briefly sketched the Mohammedan invasions, which, at this time, happened under the kings of Ghazní and Ghór. After narrating its subsequent conquest, in the thirteenth century, by the Patan kings of Dehlí, and the rise of native Mohammedan princes in the province, he details its political management by the Moghul emperors, from Akbar to Aurangzíb. He then minutely describes the contests and disturbances, which, from the death of Aurangzíb, A.D. 1707, to the defeat of the Mahrattas by Ahmad Sháh Abdalí, A.D. 1761, tended gradually to destroy the prosperity of the province; and concludes his history by an Appendix, containing an account of the various sects of Hindús and Mohammedans, the different parganahs, and the most remarkable places of religious resort. This last portion gives a connected history of the Mahratta transactions in that quarter; and ends with the settlement, at Baroda, of Dámají Gaikwár, and the death of Bálájí Bájí Ráo, after the unfortunate battle of Pánipat.
The materials of this work were collected by Mohammed Alí Khán, the Imperial Díwán, or revenue minister of Gujarát; who, in his preface, gives us a short biographical account of himself. He has there stated, that this history was brought to a conclusion in A.D. 1756; but it was not, in fact, completed until A.D. 1762, or Hij. 1175. As the author commenced collecting materials in A.D. 1748, he must have dedicated fourteen years of attention to its composition. His style is more laboured and verbose than that of most Mohammedan historians; but what it wants in elegance is compensated by general accuracy of facts, and research. In his account of the Rájás, he has added little or nothing to the information which had been previously communicated by the historian Abu-l-Fazl; though this is a period regarding which we could wish to have received more detailed accounts.
I shall therefore endeavour to supply this deficiency, by giving a sketch of the state of Hindú Society, at this time; and, though such be not so complete as I could wish, it can be filled up by the discoveries of future inquirers. Previous to doing so, it is necessary to say something regarding the manuscript of the work. I am not aware that a copy of the Mirát Ahmadí is to be found among any of the existing collections of Persian books now in Europe. The one from which the translation is made was transcribed at Ahmadábád, A.D. 1822, by Narsain Dás, of the Kait tribe. In rendering it into English, I have had the advice and assistance of the very learned Persian Secretary of the Satárah Residency, Mír Khairát Alí, commonly called Mushták; who, had he lived in other times than ours, and under a different system, would, in consideration of his knowledge of the Persian language and of Mohammedan history, have risen to offices of great rank and emolument.
ILLUSTRATING
THE CONSTITUTION OF HINDÚ SOCIETY,
AND
THE STATE OF INDIA,
FROM THE
END OF THE TENTH TO THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
THE Hindús, south of the Narbadá river, are
Origin of the
Southern
Hindús.
The interval from the first great battle between
The obscurity
of their history,
from the end
of the tenth
to the end of
the twelfth
century.
No work deserving the name of History can
No work deserving
the
name of History
known
among them.
It is here that Sanskrit grants and Mohammedan
Utility of Sanskrit
grants
and Mohammedan
annals
in illustrating
their traditions.
The western coast of India, from the Indus to
Sanskrit geography
of the
western coast.
When the Mohammedans, under the first
A.D. 977, war
with the Hindus,
who are
defeated.
The latter appear to have been so unequal in
Causes which
rendered them
inferior in war
to the Mohammedans.
Multiplicity of opinion is no where more
Councils of
war.
The latter, we are told, were better mounted
Inferior
equipment of
the Hindú
cavalry.
Hindústán was, at this time, apportioned
State of India
at this time.
The different principalities, into which India
Government of
the Rájás.
Such were the discordant materials of the Hindú army that opposed the Mohammedans; and, when we consider the state of India at this time, there is no cause for wonder why the latter experienced so little opposition in conquering it.
Mahmúd of Ghazní, who had succeeded his
A. D. 1001.
Mahmúd of
Ghazní's first
expedition to
India.
After the first expedition, the king of Ghazní
A. D. 1005.
Hij. 396.
The army accordingly marched, by Multán,
Second Expedition.
The crusades against the Indians were, for a
A. D, 1007.
Hij. 398. Third
Expedition.
But, though transgression of the faithful
A. D. 1008.
Fourth Expedition.
If we might trust Ferishta's authority, Mahmúd, at this time marching into the mountains between the sources of the Ráví (Hydraotes) and Beyáhc (Hyphasis) rivers, captured the celebrated fortress of Nágrakót, then called the Fort of Bhím. It was not, however, till the following
A.D. 1009.
year, Hij. 400, according to the Tabakát Akbarí and Habíbu-s-Sair, that this expedition was undertaken; and, as the hostile armies, prior to the last battle, had consumed three or four months in operations west of the Indus, it is not probable that Mahmúd could have marched into India at the commencement of the rainy season.d The fortress of Nágrakót had been for ages the object of Hindú veneration; and not far distant from it there are temples, near one of those extraordinary spectacles of nature, a burning fountain, for which the ignorant have a superstitious and idolatrous regard. The last is known by the name of Jwálá-Mukhí,e or “the effulgent countenance.”
Fifth Expedition.
When Mahmúd invested Nágrakót, which was his fifth expedition, the temples were filled with wealth and jewels; the pious offerings, by rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms, that had been thus accumulating for many years. Such was the vast booty obtained, by this expedition, that the conqueror, on his return to Ghazní, prepared a magnificent festival; and, having caused his pavilion to be pitched without the city, exhibited, to the assembled multitude, a golden throne and other ensigns of luxury, which the spoils of Hindústán had enabled him to prepare.
As the Afgháns, inhabiting the mountains of
Ghór, employed Mahmúd's attention in the succeeding
year, the war against the Hindús was
for a time suspended. But another crusade
against idolatry was, according to Ferishta,
undertaken to Thánesar, near Dehlí, in Hij.
A.D. 1011. Sixth Expedishy;tion.
Part of the two succeeding years was spent
in sending an army into Jurján; and in political
discussions with the Khalif of Baghdad, regarding
the surrender of the Khorásán province,
and the city of Samarkand, to the government
A.D. 1014.
Hij. 405.
Seventh Expedition.
The murder of the king of Khawárazm (the
ancient Chorasmia), who was Mahmúd's brother-in-law,
called the attention of the latter to
that quarter: and the affairs of that state, having
been thus thrown into confusion, occupied
the chief part of his time for the three succeeding
years. At the expiration of this period,
Hindústán, with its dependencies, was doomed,
Eighth Expedition.
The recital of the enormities committed during
these barbarous expeditions sickens and
fatigues the mind by the sameness of the narrative;
towns were captured and set on fire;
temples destroyed; idols broken, or converted
into currency, when found of precious metals;
the inhabitants pillaged and carried into captivity;
while commerce and cultivation were
totally ruined and neglected. Such were the
numbers of the captives carried away, after the
sack of Matra, that a slave was sold in the Mohammedan
camp for ten dirhems, or about five
shillings of English money. Yet the unsatiable
mind of Mahmúd was not satisfied with the sufferings
he had inflicted on idolatry, or the
wealth he had acquired; and, when affairs in
other quarters left his thoughts at liberty, he
again turned his attention to India. Two more
expeditions were undertaken against the devoted
country; one of which was directed
against the fort of Kálinjar, and the other to
A.D. 1022. Review of
Hij. 413.
Ninth Expedition.
events preceding
it.
The last crusade against idolatry, in which
the king of Ghazní was engaged, was an expedition
to the temple of Somnáth, situated near
Diú, in the province of Gujarát. Poetry and
fable have been alike employed to adorn the
narrative and magnify the importance of this
conquest. But, if the record of past events
borrows more from fancy than memory, and
substitutes amusement for instruction, the order
of knowledge is inverted; and, where history
ought to have commenced, fable has not yet
terminated. In this matter, doubt is better than
credulity; and, if we hesitate to give assent to
much that has been said of Somnáth, we will
not insult the spirit of philosophy. The district
The religious
sectaries who
worshipped at
Somnáth.
The fame of the temple of Swayambhú Náth
at length reached the ear of Mahmúd; who,
several years, had been projecting another expedition,
for the destruction of the vain idolaters.
Accompanied by thirty thousand horse,
besides many volunteers, he left Ghazní the
A.D. 1025. A.D. 1026.
October 7.
Tenth Expedition.
A.D. 1030.
Four years subsequent to these events,
this great conqueror breathed his last. He had
attained his sixty-third year, and died of stone
in the bladder; a disease, which, at this period
of life, is equally common in its attack, as it is
suited to wear out the last energies of a vigorous
Character of
Mahmúd.
Extent of the
empire of
Ghazní at his
death.
With the declining power of the race of Sámán, the kings of Ghazní, from the humble situation of provincial governors, had raised themselves to extensive dominion. The quarrels of neighbouring states gave them a pretext for the necessity of interference; and, though not scrupulous in this matter, they justified the march of their troops into other countries, as state expediency and self-preservation, while their only motive was a hope of adding to their territory, through the weakness of those they pretended to assist. The provinces of Ghazní,p Kábúl, and Balkh, with part of Khorásán, had been bequeathed to his children by Sabuktagín; but such was the extent and rapidity of the conquests made by Mahmúd, that, in no less than thirty years after, the empire of Ghazní extended from the Persian Gulf to the sea of Aral, and from the mountains of Kurdistán to the Satlaj. With the exception of Khúzistán and Fárs, yet remaining possessions of the nearly extinguished race of Bawaihi,q this mighty kingdom included the whole of Persia, Transoxiana, and the Panjáb; while it embraced every variety of climate, through twenty degrees of latitude and thirty of longitude. The decease of its founder was the signal for its decline; which was equally rapid as its rise.
Character of
his successors.
At the death of Mahmúd, two sons were left to dispute the succession to his throne; but, as these were twins, whose priority of right was only established by a few hours, each considered his claim equally legitimate, and resolved to decide it by the sword. The will of their father had been evinced in favour of the elder; and, though his dying wish indicated him for his successor, the younger was little disposed to yield obedience to a decision, which he considered, no doubt, founded on caprice. Mohammed, the name of the former, mild and winning in his manner, had secured a father's affection by filial duty and implicit obedience; and though Masúd, the younger, had more striking qualities to sway the multitude, they were little calculated to win a parent's love, though they might occasionally command his regard. The former, though gentle and tractable in disposition, possessed little besides which might command respect: the other, bold and independent in his language, might sometimes offend his father; but, distinguished for feats of strength, loved for liberality, and admired for his valour, won the hearts of the army and the nobles, and calculated with certainty on success. The Khalif of Baghdád had been privately instructed by the late king of Ghazní that, in addressing him, he was to insert the name of the Prince Mohammed before that of Masúd. The letter was read aloud in court, at Ghazní; some of the nobles, in their zeal for the cause of the latter, expressed indignation and surprise at the circumstance, but the answer of Masúd to them was characteristic of the man. “Concern not yourselves,” said he; “when swords are truest, we may write what follows.”r
Accession of
Masúd.
Mahmúd contemplated, as would appear,
the contest of the brothers for his throne;
and arranged, as far as circumstances would
permit, that his favourite might find every facility
for possessing himself of Ghazní. Masúd,
who had been sent to rule the most westerly
dependencies of the empire, had his seat of government
at Ispahán; while Mohammed, nearer
to the capital, directed the affairs of Transoxiana,
and resided at Jurján,s
in the ancient
Hyrcania, south-east of the Caspian. When
the intelligence of his father's decease was
brought to the latter, he immediately set out
for Ghazní, and was crowned with the approbation
and aid of the late king's relations, who
executed his will in this respect. The wishes of
the army and the nobles, however, were all in
favour of Masúd, who, leaving governors in
the provinces of Persian Irák, made all possible
expedition in advancing to Khorásán, with the
intention of asserting his right to the throne.
Mohammed made preparation to oppose him,
and marched to Taki-ábád, not far distant from
Ghazní; but the nobles, having formed a conspiracy,
seized and confined him; while they
A.D. 1030.
October.
Notwithstanding the many eminent qualities which distinguished this prince, and which appeared to indicate him as born for dominion, his administration proved less vigorous than was anticipated, and the extent of the empire was considerably reduced during his reign. The causes which occasioned such things were perhaps beyond the possibility of control. The pastoral tribe of Turkmáns had found a brave and active leader in the person of Toghrul Beg, sprung from the race of Saljúk; and, while these warlike barbarians were professing obedience to the king of Ghazní, they continued to commit aggressions against his people and his power. Though long superior, the troops of Ghazní had now met their equals: victory did not always accompany their standards; and the northern parts of the kingdom were all but severed from the monarch's control.
The rise of such formidable rivals proved an
auspicious event for the feeble states of India,
by directing the attention of the Ghazní government
to other parts of its possessions. But,
though Masúd was no longer able to afflict
Hindústán with the desolating warfare which
had been carried on by his father, the country
was not altogether exempted from foreign invasion.
A.D 1036.
Expedition to
Hansi.
While the aggressions of the Saljúk Turkmáns were daily becoming more daring, Masúd, with singular infatuation, neglected to pursue those vigorous measures, suited to check encroachments on his territory. Though the nobles endeavoured to dissuade him from undertaking the expedition to India, representing that the troops might be more properly employed in expelling the Turkmáns from Khorásán,x he would not attend to this good advice, and suffered in the end for his obstinacy. In his absence, the power of his formidable enemies had increased; the property and lives of his subjects were made their sport; and, as one of his nobles said, “though once but ants, they had become adders.”y The several members of the subjugated race of Bawaihi, who, as lieutenants of the king of Ghazní, continued to conduct the government of Persian Irák, took this opportunity of regaining their independence, and excited a rebellion. Masúd, too late perceiving that all these causes threatened to dismember his empire, marched against the Turkmáns. Several engagements were fought with various success, till the army of Ghazní, marching to Sirakhsh, in Khorásán, was opposed by the latter, and met with defeat. The king soon after withdrew to his Indian possessions, with a view of recruiting his army, and repairing his losses; but the troops, becoming discontented on the road, mutinied, and dethroned their leader. His blind brother Mohammed was now elevated to the vacant throne, and Masúd sent to prison, where he was soon after assassinated.
A.D. 1042.
Sultan Modúd.
The blind Mohammed did not long retain his newly-acquired dignity. Modúd, the son of Masúd, was not without suspicion that his uncle had been privy to his father's murder. The former received the news of this event by a letter from his uncle, who affected to lament a brother's death; and the answer to the fratricide was as biting and sarcastic, as condolence was ill-dissembled and uncalled for, in his nephew's opinion: “May God lengthen the days,” said he, “of so merciful a king, and grant that his mad son Ahmad gain glory in the practice of regicide, till he obtains his reward at our hands!” At this time, Modúd was at Balkh, whither he had been sent, after his father's defeat and retreat to India. Indignant at his uncle's supposed hypocrisy, this prince, on first receiving intelligence of the event, was anxious to march directly on the Panjáb, that he might revenge his father's murder. From this he was dissuaded by his friends; who induced him first to go to Ghazní, and take possession of the ancient capital of his ancestors. His approach was hailed with acclamation by the citizens, who thronged to meet him. From this he hastened to the banks of the Indus, to oppose his uncle's army, which had marched from Lahore. The struggle of the parties was soon decided; a battle was fought between them, in which Modúd was victorious; and his father's murderers were put to death. There was now no rival to oppose his pretensions to the throne of Ghazní, except his brother Majdúd;z who had been left, as before noticed, in the government of the south-eastern states. Hansi was, at this time, the capital of the younger brother, who refused to bear allegiance to the elder. The latter had failed by persuasion to bring the other to obedience, and had no choice left him but to trust to the sword for the issue of the contest. A force was sent to the Panjáb; when Majdúd, hearing of its approach, left Hansi, and hastened to oppose it. Soon after, however, he was found dead in his bed, without any previous complaint; and left his brother undisputed possession of the kingdom.
Revolt among its principal governors, increasing
The Hindús
regain possession
of several
subjugated
places.
A.D. 1043.
Review of the
state of India
at this period,
and the distribution
of the
country among
its Hindú
rulers.
In order to fill up the periods of fable, and bring down its history to the time when Mohammedan annals of India commence, the Voidya monarchs of Bengal, cotemporary with the Rájpút princes bearing the title of Pál, are made to succeed them in the general system of Hindú chronology. This, as will presently be explained, is founded on misconception and ignorance. The last but one of the Voidya Rájás, Lakshmana Sinha, is well known to Mohammedan history as Lakamir, and gives name to an era in Bengal. Their original seat of government was Naddia;a but Gaur, or Laknauti, on the left bank of the Ganges, near Malda, afterwards became their capital. Cotemporary with this state was that of Benares and Gaur; which was governed, in the reign of Mahmúd of Ghazní, by Rájás of the Buddhist persuasion; of whose former existence and belief the urns found at Sarnáth, four miles north of Benares, and the inscription on the statue of Buddha, afford us unequivocal proof.b The contiguous Hindú principality, north-westward, was Kálinjar, tributary to the Buddhist princes of Benares; and further eastward than that the kings of Ghazní do not appear to have advanced. The first of the Benares family, Bhúpála, otherwise named Mahípála, was succeeded by his sons Sthirapála and Vasantapála, who erected the temple of Sarnáth.c If the Srí Deva Pála, of the Mongír grant and inscription from Buddal,d be not the same person as the last, though differently entitled, he certainly succeeded this family, not long after A.D. 1027. Ten years subsequent to this time, the name of Yaso Pála occurs. He issues his commands in the fort of Karrah,e but ruled the realm of Kausamba, or Rangamatty, situated on the Brahmaputra river. This can be no other than Srí Deva Pála, who was mighty lord of the great Sugats or Buddhists, and had for his subjects the Gaur, Khoso, Laasata, and Bhoto, or the people of Bahar, Kassay, Lhassa, and Bhútan. He travelled on his pilgrimages from the sources of the Ganges, at Kedar Náth, to Gúkerna on the ocean,f and overran the kingdoms on his route. These conquests were not permanent; but the occurrence of such indicates the unsettled habits of the military class of Hindús in those times. As the prince who made them is said to have acted according to the Shástra, or the law, and emulated a God in his actions, he may have thus received the title of Srí Deva Pála; while his other title of Yaso Pála would express his celebrity. On the west of India, Dhúrlabha Chalukya had abdicated, at Nahrwálah Patan, in favour of his son, or brother, Bhíma Rájá I; and made his pilgrimage to Gayá. One of the Gohila family occupied Ajmír, and, in the south of India, the Belál princes, who afterwards took possession of Dwárá Samudra, had swerved from their allegiance to the Chóla Rájás, and founded a new state north of the Krishna.g
There is nothing more perplexing to the reader
Appellations
of the Rájpúts
at this time.
A member of the Silhára tribe of Rájpúts,
A.D. 1058.
Conquests in
the Dekhun.
The Chalukya, or Solanki tribe of Rájpúts,
A.D. 1078.
Chalukyas of
Kalyani.
Mohammedan conquests had so disorganized
Rahtore family
established at
Kauauj.
The state of Warangal, in the Dekhan, which
A.D. 1088.
Rise of the
Hindú kingdom
of Warangal.
After the death of Modúd, in A.D. 1049, the prosperity
Review of
Ghazní affairs
from the reign
of Modúd.
Srí Deva Pála was succeeded in the government
Hindú rulers
of Kanauj and
Benares.
The sovereignty of Benares and Gaur had been
A.D. 1105.
Conquests by
the Rájás of
Gaor.
In the transcript of the inscription, which informs us of these conquests, Gurjara is read for Kunjara; but, as neither western Gujarát nor the small district of this name in the Panjáb can be the countries intended, an error has probably crept into the copy, by which Kunjara, or a country abounding with elephants, has been converted into Gurjara. The country of Kunjara is that now known by the name of Tipperah, east of the Ganges; where the people, being of Scythian origin, were appropriately enough termed Húns.z Útkal is the province now called Orissa, east of the Godaveri river; and Dravira,a though limited in its most confined sense to the eastern shore of the Peninsula, between the Palar and Koartilair rivers, has been here extended to include the maritime part of Telingana.
By the traditionary history and native annals of Orissa, the fact of its invasion, from the north, about this time, is sufficiently well authenticated.b The Vansávalí, or genealogical list of its princes, has erroneously brought the invader from the banks of the Godaveri, or lesser Ganges, and styles the new race Gangá-Vansa. The person who subdued the province was named Serang Deo, or Chor Ganga; and was probably the same as Súra Pála of Gaur. It is impossible to determine whether the invasion of Orissa was conducted by the Supreme Rájás of Gaur in person, or by their military ministers; but no doubt can exist that the change of dynasty in the former was effected through the influence of one or other from the latter. The cognate origin of the letters of the Mahávalipuram inscription,c and those of the Bhali alphabet, or sacred character of the Burmese, and the tradition that the temples there were executed by the Dharma Rájá, or a northern prince, are other proofs confirming the authority of the Buddal inscription, with regard to the conquests which were effected in the south.
A.D. 1152.
Death of Sultán
Bairam of
Ghazní. The
Mohammedan
possessions in
India during
this reign.
Masúd III. of Ghazní was eventually succeeded by his son Bairam, who is more distinguished for the patronage he extended to literature than for the conquests he made. His death happened after a reign of thirty-five years; during which time he alternately occupied Ghazní and Lahore as his capital. In this reign the Arabic version of Bidpay's fables, called the Kalíla wa Dimna, which had been translated from Pehleví by Abdallah ben Mo*-le/>kaffa, was rendered into Persian. Many learned men at this time found a liberal patron in Sultán Bairam, who united to an uncommon desire for knowledge a noble and generous disposition.d The poet Shaikh Nizámi was one among the many who experienced the benefit of such enlightened liberality.
Soon after his accession to power, Sultán Bairam was engaged in an expedition to Lahore, for the purpose of chastising Mohammed Bahlin, the refractory Viceroy of India; who had been appointed to the government by his rival brother, Sultán Arslán. The Viceroy was defeated and made captive: but, being subsequently pardoned and reinstated in the government, effected several conquests in the country of Sewalik. Having soon after excited a rebellion, Mohammed Bahlin was again defeated near Multán, and perished in his flight.
Succession of
Jaya Chandra,
the last Rájá
of Kanauj.
Partition of the
kingdom of
Gaur some time
previous to this
event.
Jaya Chandra, the last Hindú sovereign of Kanauj, and one of the most celebrated characters of Rájpút history, was at this time appointed Yava Rájá, or designated successor and associate in the empire of his father, Vijaya Chandra.e He is well known in the legendary history of the Rájpúts as the rival and enemy of Prithvi Ráyá, prince of Ajmír, between whom a contest for pre-eminence, as supreme potentate of India, was continually kept up, till the Mohammedans, under Mohammed Ghorí, interfered and ruined both.
Some time previous to the accession of Jaya Chandra, the supreme power of the Pál princes of Gaur had terminated with Náráyan Pála, the last of his race: and to this cause we may ascribe the contests which followed between Jaya Chandra of Kanauj and Prithvi Ráyá of Ajmír. Benares and the north-western part of that kingdom became the possession of the Rájás of Kanauj, while Lakshmana Sinha, or Lakamír,f last of the Voidya Rájás, seized on Gaur and Bahar.
The family of Ghor, who originally possessed the mountainous district of Khorásán, south-east of Herát, was raised to distinction by the successful wars of Ghiyásu-d-dín Mohammed of Ghor; who had succeeded to the government of his native country, at the death of his cousin Alá-ud-dín.g He conquered the greater part of Khorásán, and expelled the Khárizmians. Previous to this time, the chiefs of Ghor had connected themselves with the kings of Ghazní by marriage; but, as several of the former had been put to death by the latter, a fierce enmity was produced between the families, and ended by the Ghorians establishing their authority over the possessions of Ghazní on the ruin of their rivals.
A.D. 1174.
Hij. 570.
Ghiyásu-d-dín, being firmly fixed in the government of Ghor, conferred the title of Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí on his brother, and appointed him his Viceroy at Ghazní.h An army was conducted the following year into India, where Multán and Úcha were subdued. Having again marched his troops into that country, A.D. 1178, Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí, by the route of the Sind desert, advanced to the confines of Gujarát; where he was opposed by Bhíma Deva Chálukya,i lieutenant of his brother, the Rájá of Nahrwálah. The Mohammedans experienced a severe defeat on this occasion, and suffered many hardships in their retreat.k
A.D. 1186.
Khusrau II.
last of the
princes of the
Ghazní family.
The power of the Ghazní princes, who had for some time maintained a semblance of sovereign authority in India, was now completely extinguished: Khusrau II. having been made a prisoner, surrendered Lahore to the Ghorian. Six years previous to this event, Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí had invested this capital; but, being unable to take the place, concluded a peace with the feeble representative of the once powerful house of Ghazní: the latter having agreed to deliver up his son, as a hostage, that the articles of the treaty might be fulfilled. The terms of the treaty were not observed, however, and the Ghorian, again obliged to invest the town, failed in an attempt to capture it. Treachery at length secured to him what force was not able to effect; and the empire of Sabuktagín was transferred to Mohammed Ghorí.
A.D. 1187.
Mohammed
Ghorí defeated
by Prithvi
Ráyá, of
Ajmír.
No Mohammedan rival remained to oppose the conquests of the Ghorian in India; and his thoughts were now bent on extending his possessions in that country. The Hindú rulers of Kanauj and Ajmír were the only authorities who had the means of defeating his pretensions; and such, when weighed against the arrogance of the champion of Islám, would be as nothing in the balance. Mohammed Ghorí conducted his troops towards Ajmír, by the route of Sirhind,l which he captured. He then took Kohram and Samana.m The Rájá of Ajmír, at this time, was Prithvi Ráyá, whom the Táríkhi Alfí names Gola, though more correctly written Gohila, as such was the appellation of his tribe.n Having heard that the Mohammedans had taken those places, he advanced with an army of Rájpúts, to stop the march of the Ghorians. The parties soon after came to blows; but the right and left wings of the Mohammedans being broken, took to flight, and left their leader, with the centre, to maintain an unequal contest. Mohammed Ghorí, though forsaken by cowards, was himself undismayed; and, notwithstanding many of his friends continued urging him to leave the field of action, he turned a deaf ear to their intreaties, till unhorsed, and about to become a captive. A fierce struggle here commenced between the Rájpúts and the Mohammedans, the former endeavouring to carry off the Sultán, while the others made desperate efforts to prevent them. Fortune at length favoured their exertions; and the troops of Ghor, having by one determined effort driven back the Hindús, released their leader. Mohammed Ghorí, who thus narrowly escaped from an untimely death, was mounted by his followers on horseback, and carried from the field of battle. He had not gone far when, becoming faint and weak from the loss of blood, they placed him in a covered litter, and immediately continued their flight, till far beyond the danger of pursuit; notwithstanding the Rájpúts made no effort to follow up their first success.o On arriving in the neighbourhood of Lahore,p Mohammed Ghorí disgraced the officers who had deserted him; and, having compelled them to hang about their necks their horses' mouth-bags, filled with grass, sent them into the city with this badge of infamy. During this year the Sultán remained at Lahore, to repair the disasters of defeat, and then marched to Ghazní.
The disgrace of defeat weighed so heavily on the mind of Mohammed Ghorí, that for several years he remained inactive; and, sorrowful for the event, was so vexed with those who had caused it, that he would not permit any of the disgraced nobles to approach him, or pay their respects. Having at length, however, assembled an army, without permitting any one to be privy in his counsel, he marched for Pesháwar. At this place an old man of Ghor came out to meet him; and, after having performed the usual salutations and respect proper to be observed before sovereigns, the sage requested to know what were his intentions; for, though there were many speculations regarding them, no one knew with certainty whither he was going. Mohammed Ghorí informed him, that, ever since his defeat by the Hindús, he had neither slept soundly nor indulged in pleasure; and, though little might be trusted to the troops of Ghor, he nevertheless felt confident that God would aid him in consulting the interests of the true faith, by conducting an army into India.q To this the sage replied—“Please God, your wishes will be so accomplished by our kinsmen, that your heart will be delighted: but let me advise you to forget their past offences, and so honour them with your confidence, that they may serve you with zeal, and omit nothing which may contribute to success.” This good advice was followed; the disgraced nobles were called to the presence of their leader; to him they excused themselves, saying—“Though we know what our master suffered for the past, we had yet no remedy to offer; and prayed to God that he would again invade Hindústán, to give us an opportunity of wiping away the stain on our character. Thank Heaven, the time has now arrived when, by a victory over the idolaters, we may hope to have our wishes accomplished, and the load of sorrow, which has weighed down our hearts, removed!”r They were all again received into favour, and honoured with proofs of their master's regard.
Defeat of
Prithvi Ráyá,
the Prince of
Ajmír.
After having passed the Indus, the Ghorians advanced by the route of the Panjáb to the neighbourhood of Dehlí; while the Hindús, under Prithvi Ráyá, prepared to oppose them. The former were yet distant two stages from the camp of the enemy, when their leader made a feint retreat in the direction of Sirhind. Prithvi Ráyá, elated by his former success, and imagining the invaders were panic-struck, pursued the flying foe; who thus retreated, four or five stages, without indicating a wish to engage their pursuers. The Rájpúts sent the Mohammedans a message of defiance, telling them—“Like thieves, who enter the dwellings of men, and fear punishment, you fly before us; but it is now fit you stand a battle: fly not, therefore, if you respect the honour of your government.” To this an answer was returned by the latter, that they, mistrusting their own prowess against that of their pursuers, were obliged to fly. The retreat had been thus continued, till the former reached the town of Naraini, since called Tiraurí,s situated between Kurnal and Thánesur, on the banks of the Chittung river.t Here both armies encamped; the Mohammedans occupying the western and the Rájpúts the eastern bank. The latter, with their leader, had been lulled into fatal security by the well-dissembled fears of the other; and Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí, perceiving he had thus accomplished the object of his retreat, made seven thousand cavalry pass the river, during the night, with orders to attack the enemy's camp at daybreak. His instructions were attended to; the Mohammedans assaulted the Hindús, and took them by surprise; Prithvi Ráyá, in the first moment of panic, endeavouring to escape on horseback, was prevented by his followers, but, having subsequently mounted his elephant, bravely led on the Rájpúts; and the contest was maintained till nightfall, when victory declared for the Ghorians. Many of the Hindús were slain; and Prithvi Ráyá was made captive. This proud Rájpút chief, when brought into the presence of the Sultán, refused to do him homage, by bowing his head before him; but one of the Mohammedan attendants, indignant at the insult offered to his master, seized the fallen monarch, and bent his forehead to the earth.u On being asked by the Ghorian, how he would have treated him, had it been his own fate to become a captive, Prithvi Ráyá replied, that he had prepared golden fetters with which he intended to load his prisoner, had he himself been conqueror; but now that the day was his enemy's he was ready to bear whatever might be inflicted on him. He also advised the Ghorian, that, if his desire was to seize on Hindústán, he ought to proceed without delay to do so, as there was no one remaining who possessed power to oppose him; but, that if gold was the thing he fought for, he would present him with as much as his soul might covet. The former replied, that the conquest of the country, not the possession of gold, was his object in conducting his soldiers into India; and, having carried Prithvi Ráyá along with him, he advanced against Ajmír, which contained the treasure of the Hindú Prince. Ajmír, with several other strongholds in that quarter, was subsequently captured; and the Sultán, soon after having returned to Ghazní, appointed Kutbu-d-dín Aibuk, one of the royal slaves, his deputy in India.
Rájpút accounts
of
Prithvi Ráyá,
and the causes
of his defeat.
The war which Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí waged with Prithvi Ráyá, for the monarchy of India, is alike celebrated among the Mohammedans and Rájpúts; but, in the legendary history of the latter, the exploits of this greatest among their heroes are embellished with all the poetical exaggeration that could alone render this subject pleasing to a people, whose vanity was gratified to hear their household bards sing the actions of their ancestors. There is nothing improbable, or highly coloured, in the Mohammedan narrative of this transaction, given on the authority before quoted; and, though it differs considerably from that given by Ferishta, it seems on the whole more consistent and authentic than the account of that author. No doubt exists of this action having been fought at Tiraurí; but, according to some authorities, the troops of Ghor, before they offered battle, had retreated westward of Lahore. With regard to the motives which induced the Ghorian to invade India, we learn, from the Mohammedans, that a desire to support the interests of Islám, and a wish to wipe away the disgrace of former defeat, were the only ones: though the Hindú legends would lead us to suppose that, in a war between the rulers of Kanauj and Ajmír, the former, when the losing party, determined to betray his country, and leagued with the invader. It certainly appears that Prithvi Ráyá was not supported in this war against the Ghorian by assistance from Jaya Chandra, of Kanauj; but the supineness of the former, on this occasion, may be with more reason ascribed to his jealousy, as a rival candidate for the supreme monarchy of India, than to revenge; and there is no good foundation for the belief that his more favoured opponent had carried off his daughter or his mistress. The supreme monarchy of India had become vacant, as we have seen, by the death of Náráyan Pála, of Gaur; and those who set up their pretensions to the paramount title were the Princes of Ajmír and Kanauj. Jaya Chandra, who ruled the latter, was of the Rahtore tribe; and Prithvi Ráyá, though a member of the recently established tribe of Chohan, was more commonly styled a Gohila, after the parent stock. If we may believe the Rájpút legends, and in this particular they are not unworthy of credit, the former resolved to perform the Rájasúyax sacrifice, and seal his supremacy. Prithvi Ráyá, who considered he had a superior claim to the honour, absented himself from the ceremony; though most of the other Rájás paid their homage to the monarch of Kanauj. The former was represented there, in effigy, as the doorkeeper. His subsequent arrival, in disguise, at the court of Kanauj; his conquest of the affections of Jaya Chandra's daughter, her flight from her father's house, his apathy in every thing but love, and indifference to the affairs of his kingdom, even when the invader was at his door, are so many poetical inventions to adorn a tale, but do not suit the gravity of history: notwithstanding they have been adopted by the historian, Abul-Fazl. The manner of his death is also a subject of doubt; but the Mohammedan account, that he was slain by order of the Sultán, after this victory, is agreeable to their usual policy.
Defeat and
death of Jaya
Chandra, Rájá
of Benares and
Kananj.
Though it be related, by Hindú
legends, that, in the war between
Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí, and Prithvi
Ráyá, Jaya Chandra had called in the invader,
there is no evidence to support the truth of the
assertion. Mohammedan authorities are quite
silent regarding this matter; and we cannot
suppose that the latter, who have been long
accustomed to detail the events of their history,
could have passed such unnoticed had it taken
place. But, though not actively aiding the Mo*-le/>hammedans,
Jaya Chandra, by having become
a tame spectator to the downfall of his rival,
had materially aided them in subduing India;
and soon after he had cause to repent of such
indifference to his country's cause. Success
only serves as a stimulus to ambition, or to
render its possessor more daring; and Mohammed
Ghorí, who had accomplished the ruin of the
Prince of Ajmír, and possessed his country,
resolved to destroy the power of his rival.
After the defeat of Prithvi Ráyá, the troops of
Ghór, who marched for Ghazní, had wintered
the following year in Pesháwar; and Kutbu-d-dín
Aibuk, Viceroy of India, having in the
mean time subdued many of the cities in this
country, seized the inhabitants, and sent them
as slaves to his master. The Rájá of Kanauj,
now the greatest sovereign in Hindústán, prepared
to revenge this wanton cruelty, and commenced
hostilities against the Mohammedan
possessions, with seven hundred war elephants,
and one hundred thousand cavalry. On hearing
A.D. 1194.
Country subdued
to the confines
of China.
Shahábu-d-dín Mohammed Ghorí entered Benares after this battle, where he loaded four thousand camels with jewels, fine clothes, and rarities of every description, and sent them to Ghazní. At this time many other cities of India were captured, and the country subdued as far as the confines of China.a
A.D. 1195.
Conquests of
Kutbu-d-dín
Aibuk.
Soon after the defeat and death of
the Rájá of Benares, Mohammed Ghorí
returned to Ghazní; and the viceroy of India,
having fought several battles, extended the
Mohammedan possessions in his absence. He
defeated the army of Bhíma Deva, of Nahrwálah;
ravaged Gujarát and Ajmír; entered
the province of Agra; laid siege to the hill fortress
of Biana,b
north of the river Chambul;
where, having heard that his master had left
December, January,
A.D. 1196.
A.D. 1197.
Attempt to
recover Ajmír
by the Rájá of
Nahrwálah.
The Supreme Rájá of Nahrwálah, Bhíma Deva Chalúkya, assisted by his feudatories, Prahladana and Dara Versha,e the rulers of Chandravati, assisted by the Rájá of Nagore, made an effort to wrest Ajmír from the Mohammedans. The troops of the latter were, at this time, dispersed over the provinces, but Kutbu-d-dín Aibuk, with the few soldiers he could collect, marched to oppose them, and was defeated. In this action the Viceroy was severely wounded, and carried to Ajmír; which was now besieged by the allied army of Hindús. When intelligence of these movements was received at Ghazní, reinforcements were immediately sent to the assistance of the Viceroy. Ajmír was maintained against the besiegers till the arrival of the troops from Ghazní; when the enemy, retiring, were pursued into the district of Sirohí. At this time, the rulers of Chandravati, who were encamped near Abú, resolved to defend the passes into Gujarát; and the Viceroy, hearing of this, attacked and defeated them with great slaughter. On this occasion vast spoils were obtained by the Mo*-le/>hammedans, who now advanced into Gujarát, and captured Nahrwálah. The Viceroy, soon after retracing his steps to Dehlí, took the forts of Badaún, Kalpí, and Kálinjar,f having thus reduced the country as far as the junction of the Jumna and the Ganges.
Conquests by
Mohammed
Bakhtiár
Khiljí, in Awud
and Bahar.
Mohammed Bakhtiár Khiljí, who commanded
a division of troops under the
Viceroy, was at this time sent across the Ganges,
to possess the province of Awud,g
which he
reduced. Here he obtained much spoil; and,
having rendered hmiself formidable by increasing
his military force, excited the envy of the other
commanders who were serving under the Viceroy.
Soon after, this general appears to have conquered
the northern part of Bahar, or Mithila; and
his enemies had become so jealous of his success,
that they left no method untried of prejudicing
the mind of Kutbu-d-dín Aibuk against
him. The Viceroy yielded so far to their clamour
as to enter, at one time, into a design of
murdering Mohammed Bakhtiár Khiljí; but,
having been persuaded by some of his intimates
to commute this sentence, he determined that
his servant should decide his fate, in single
combat, against a fierce white elephant.h
The
latter was successful, and rose in the estimation
of his master, who subsequently conferred on
A.D. 1203.
A.D. 1206.
Death of Mohammed
Ghorí,
and establishment
of the
Dehlí empire.
After the Gakkars had, in the beginning of this year, murdered Shahab-ud-dín Mohammed Ghorí, Kutbu-d-dín Aibuk was left undisputed master of all the Indian possessions that belonged to the former, excepting Bahar and Bengal, which owned the authority of Mohammed Bakhtiár Khiljí. From this date the first Mohammedan empire of Dehlí may be said to commence; and was sucessively ruled by different families of Afgháns, till the establishment of the Moghul dynasty by the celebrated Báber.
PERSIAN MANUSCRIPTS, BELONGING TO THE TRANSLATOR, WHICH HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO, AS AUTHORITIES FOR THE FACTS OF THE HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION, OR MAY BE HEREAFTER CITED IN THE ANNOTATIONS.
With regard to the system of orthography followed in this
translation, it is necessary to say a few words. Most of the
consonants are to be pronounced as in English. The lisping
ACCORDING to the inevitable will of destiny— “truly he is appointed vicegerent on earth, from the presence of him who is lord of every country, and who giveth to whomsoever he chooseth,” —it has been decreed, that Abú-Nasr Mujáhidu-d-dín Ahmad Sháhb should bear the ensigns of Royalty, and the seal of the Khiláfat. Being adorned with the signet of Prophecy, and bearing the exalted title of Kiblah of the world, and Kaba of the universe, the same is a king great as Jamshíd,c and an emperor, whose court is exalted as the sky. He is styled protector of the glorious religion, such being recorded by the power and will of God, (granting nobility and conferring favour) and has bestowed on the world both ease and comfort.
Moreover, the glad tidings of the clemency, kindness, and justice, of this mighty king, (who cherishes his servants and consumes his enemies) having spread abroad into the four quarters of Hindústán, let all subjects and vassals observe the usual obedience, and perform the customary services, giving thanks for such great presents, as are the blessings of this fortunate, prosperous, and tranquil age; and, praying continually that the state may remain stedfast, let them not oppose or resist the sublime decrees, that are to be honoured like those of fate.
And let this be known to governors, and keepers of the royal records, that, in past time, and after the passage of Aurangzíb Álamgír Pádshádd from this transitory world, there happened to be confusion in the settlement and arrangement of the countries of Hindústán; and, because of the discord and innovation of that time, both trouble and perplexity began to spread themselves over the four quarters of that country; while ease, satisfaction, and security, necessarily and inconveniently disappeared. It being the will of God, that confusion should daily increase, and that there should be a corrupt negligence, both in the business of the treasury and administration, an anxious desire to mutiny arose in every heart; and, ambition being produced in every mind, each Názime of a province grew disobedient and refractory, and became independent.
Wherefore business generally, and the important concerns of civil government, being thus impeded, fell into neglect and arrears; while the ordinances and regulations concerning such matters being lost and gradually forgotten, the treasuries and magazines became empty, as the hands of the poor. With respect to the Súbah of Ahmadábádf Gujarát,g after Hámid Khán,h in the year of the Hijra 1137, A.D. 1724-25, had put to death Shujáat Khán Bahádur,i the deputy of Mobárizu-l-Mulkk in that province, he usurped the government lands and arrears of revenue; and, seeking to get rid of the servants and assignments, gradually obtained the volumes of the records, from the Register Office, where they had been accumulating for years. In this manner the revenue exchequer became useless. Other governors, perceiving this, retained the management of the province in their own hands, without the assistance of a minister; and, as there was neither inquiry nor question made from court concerning this, the collector-generalship of Gujarát, once the most important of any in Hindústán, was thus in a manner set aside. Nothing, at present, remains but the name and the remembrance of the office; and, as the affairs of the revenue court had been ended, the keepers of the records were scattered here and there, looking after their own affairs, or searching for employment; and the usual yearly records of the districts ceased altogether. Moreover, the volumes of the current business passed for the most part into the possession of Hámid Khán; and such as remained behind were entirely disregarded and neglected.
Truly, according to the saying, “times change with men,” the period of the latter part of Mohammed Sháh'sl reign will be explained by the blessing of God.
The writer of these pages, being appointed revenue administrator of the province, in the first year of Ahmad Sháh's reign, Hij. 1161, A.D. 1747-8, saw nothing to be done in this appointment; and, having ascertained that the records, like the office of the administrator, were only known by name, he made diligent search and inquiry regarding the affairs of the Súbahs, Cities, Sirkars, Parganahs, and Towns, whilst registering the village lands and payment, the present revenue and assessment; and being, moreover, guided in these matters by the advice of Mittha Laal, of the Kait Tribe, who became his assistant, and had kept the provincial accounts, as did his father and forefathers, he thus collected the whole in the form of a book. He employed himself in correcting and arranging this, and, having brought it to a conclusion, named it the Mirát Ahmadí, or a History of the Province of Gujarát. It was also his intention to send one copy to the record office of the province, and the other to the Imperial Court; there being no such register known, on account of those accidents which have been mentioned. But, while anxious to forward the latter copy through Jáwíd Khán Nawáb,m who was then the Emperor's Lieutenant and Minister, (and regarded this your servant,) it happened that unkínd heaven took away the Nawáb's life; so the strong wish, then existing, that this book should be made perfect, became void; and, on hearing of this distressing event, the correction was deferred and delayed.
Doubtless, if this book, which is useful in other matters besides those of the province, be equal to what I wish it, and be presented at the Imperial Court, and be honoured by the inspection of the revenue accountants, (who collect gold, and whose sight hath the virtues of the philosophers' stone,) it must obtain a thousand thanks.
And amongst its uses there is one, that it points out the origin of the Fazlí Era, and in what it differs from the Hijra, of which none, in their researches, have hitherto found out the enigma, or true signification. While writing this book, the author was anxious to ascertain, from the annalists and accountants of this country, when it commenced; but, though he sought for explanation and information among the revenue writers of the government exchequer, no one could solve the difficulty. And, though he found neither mention nor record of it in the histories of former kings, the same became obvious and intelligible, after much labour and consideration; and, having discovered, through his poor understanding, all that regards this innovation, and the time when it came into use, and in what it differs from the Hijra, he laid down the method and rule for finding it, and annexed it to this volume. If it were God's pleasure, that the author's life should be spared, and sufficient leisure left him, amidst the anarchy of this province, he resolved to detail its commencement in a separate work, and leave it as a memorial of him in the present record office.
But what leisure and quiet can be obtained, for the completion of such things, in these perverse and unsettled times?—and where is the man who can thoroughly understand this, or one so perfect as to here appreciate perfection?—for truly painful is the labour of him who would attain perfection: according to the saying, “Perfection comes in the decline of things, and then the time of failure is complete.”
Agreeably to these words, which are full of truth, “perfect yourselves in learning, that you may be honoured by the world: for he who is imperfect has no value in my sight.” And be ye joyous, satisfied, and thankful, until the time when things be made manifest, from behind the curtain that conceals them.
But as the book, just mentioned, contained an account of the landholders and governors of these parts, from the time of Akbar'sn conquest, along with the affairs of the revenue administration and taxes, the author's intimate friends, being aware of its preparation, frequently intreated him to separate the historical and revenue matters, into distinct volumes, for these reasons: First, that the above book was too voluminous and ponderous, as is the case with records, and that it was not proper to make known to every one the business of the treasury and revenue, or the regulations of government; and, secondly, that the affairs and condition of the landholders, from the first appearance of the Mohammedans in these provinces, with those of the rulers of the Dehlío government, to the present time, ought not to be combined with the business of the revenue and administration. They said, moreover, that the historical portion, with only a small branch of the other, should be written as such works usually are, in order that men may profit thereby, and that, contemplating with awe the things which have passed, one might more easily learn and remember precept by example.
Though these pages possess not such excellence as to be accounted any thing among the crowd of books, the author has complied with the wishes of those friends, to the best of his ability; and, after allowing ten years to elapse without finishing it, he at length changed the introduction, from what was originally intended, and brought it to a conclusion, in the year of the Hijra 1170, A.D. 1756, being the fourth year of the Azízu-d-dín Álamgírp II.; which was a period of great anxiety, and a time of constant contest, as will be here explained. The preface too, which detailed the state of the first transcript, has now become the commencement of the present work.
It must not be concealed, that, in what relates to the Rájás, who preceded the dominion of the Mohammedans, and also in what regards the rulers of the province, under the Patan government of Dehlí, prior to the Gujarát kings, the information was not wholly to be depended on: but such parts of the history as seemed well authenticated have been here abridged. The account of the several transactions which took place, during the individual reigns of the Gujarát kings, is selected from the Mirát Sikandarí,q a history of that sovereignty written after its termination, in Hijra 1020,* A.D. 1611. The history of the period commencing with Akbar's conquest of the country, and ending with the tenth year of Aurangzíb's reign, along with what relates to the governors of the province, has been extracted from the Akbar-Námah,r the Jahángír-Námah,s and Pádsháh-Námah.t But, as no written record of the transactions after the tenth year of Aurangzíb's reign was procurable, the account of these, up to the present time, is given on such authentic information as could be obtained from the old men of that period.
And now regarding the author of the work. When he had attained his ninth year, in the beginning of the reign of Bahádur-Sháhu Khuld-Manzil, corresponding with the Hijra, year 1120, A.D. 1708, having come from Burhánpúr into this country, he soon after began to write, in an abridged form, whatever made a strong impression on his mind; and selected all that was authenticated by trustworthy chronicles, concerning the governors of the province. The original intention being to detail the past condition, the several transactions and misfortunes, the desolation and confusion of this country, such gave rise to the production of the Mirát Ahmadí: though a description of the whole transactions would have been too long and troublesome, yet, had it been his intention to write such a work, the author might have accomplished it; but, as he has only chosen to detail a portion of these, with the years and months of their occurrence, he must be excused where his information failed him. The summary also of those things he witnessed has been written with care and attention.
But, previous to commencing with his design, it is necessary to say something of the state, extent, and revenue, of the province in former times; whilst he trusts, that, if the learned reader discovers mistakes or errors, which are unavoidable, he will amend and correct them.
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS OF THE STATE OF GUJARÁT.
IT must be known to discriminating and inquiring men that the country of Gujarát, which is one of the principal provinces in Hindústán, is in the second climate. It has a temperate atmosphere, generally; but, in places on the sea coast, the air is variable.
The soil generally is sandy, and produces all kinds of wheat in abundance: though the greater part is cultivated with bajrí, which is the usual food of the horses in Kach,x and even of a great part of the population there. In former times, good wheat was not to be obtained, but it is now generally procurable. In some of the districts, the fruits of the autumnal and spring crops, being blended together, are cultivated at such seasons, either by irrigation or the natural rains.
The fields and villages, for the most part, are surrounded by hedges of the prickly pear; by which they are completely fortified in the course of time. Many fruit and other trees, such as the amba and khirní, cover the face of the country, from the neighbourhood of Patany to the town of Baroda,z being a distance of a hundred koss. Here also we find cucumbers and nashpatis of a good quality, with melons of different kinds; which, when sown in the beds of rivers, are produced of an excellent quality and abundance, both during the cold and hot seasons. Such, however, are not procurable in Sorath. There are likewise different kinds of odoriferous herbs, fruits, and vegetables, used in these parts, whose names would occupy too much space in detailing them.
The houses are all built of burnt bricks, and are roofed with teak wood and tiles. In Sorath, however, they use stone instead of bricks.
The Kach horses possess activity; and are so well proportioned in their make as to bear a comparison with those of Arabia and Irák. The cattle of Gujarát, that run well in draught, are of a very white colour and handsome form. The panthers are incomparable hunters; and the buffaloes of this quarter are also very well made. Large elephants were formerly hunted in the territories of Rajpípalah,s but, the passage in the mountains being now closed up, they are no longer found.
In respect to warlike instruments, the swords of Sirohíb are celebrated every where, and there are no better reeds than such as are procured in this country; so that they are carried to Hindústán, Persia, and other countries, for the manufacture of arrows.
Rings, like those of Yemen, necklaces, and cups, with handles for knives and daggers, are manufactured at Khambáyat, from cornelian of different colours; and these, with a variety of ivory instruments, when carried into the neighbouring countries, are exchanged for other commodities. Cloths also, like those of Persia, Arabia, Abyssinia, Constantinople, and Europe, are made and coloured here.
Another article of produce is salt. In all the places near the sea-shore, there are enclosed fields, called, in Hindí, kiyarí; which are filled, during the cold season, from reservoirs of salt water near them; and, the salt, when concreted there, is collected. But that procured at the port of Khambáyat,c resembles coarse sand; and, possessing a considerable degree of bitterness of taste, has the virtue of recruiting the strength of debilitated persons. The black salt, named black stone, and which is called sanchal in Hindí, is made at the above sea-port by boiling a grass, called morand, in the manner usually followed in procuring murdar sang.* This salt is then carried into the neighbouring countries both by sea and land. There is yet another kind, procured from the saline pits at the town of Junjwárah,d in the parganah of Bíramgám;e and similar salt, when obtained from the water of the wells, is of a white colour and good quality, resembling bits of sugar. It is carried by the merchants into Málwa,f and other places; and all the revenue collected therefrom is included in the settlement of the above-mentioned parganah.
Another article of manufacture here is paper. Although the Daulatábád and Kashmír paper be fine and beautiful, it is not equal to what is made at Ahmadábád, either in point of whiteness or purity. Several different kinds are produced; all of which are faulty in being penetrated with innumerable small holes, caused by the particles of sand, from this sandy country, which adhere to it during its manufacture, being rubbed off in the process of polishing. Notwithstanding this, it is much prized for its whiteness, and is carried, in exchange for other commodities, to the cities of India, and Arabia, and to Constantinople.
The teak wood here is only used for the ceilings and pillars of dwelling houses, or the building of ships; but the black wood, which in quality and appearance resembles ebony, is used in the construction of bullock carriages and other things.
In the mountainous country, about Ídur,g there is a quarry of white stone, which is procurable in no other part. The lime made from this is used in stucco work; for the walls or terraces of buildings; and for fine edifices, pleasure-houses, and mausoleums. If employed in plastering, it takes so fine a polish as to reflect the light as a looking-glass. When, in the reign of Firdaus-Ashiáni-Sháh Jahán,h the royal buildings of the citadel of Sháhjahánábád (Dehlí) were repaired, the lime made from this stone was taken from Gujarát, by the King's order, and used in their construction. The mausoleums of the Mohammedan saints, the temples of the Hindús, and other public works (an account of which will be detailed hereafter,) are erected with this lime; as are also numerous canals, water reservoirs, wells, and other like buildings.
Though the water of the wells is salt, yet, were all the other good things of this province made a subject of praise, another volume would be requisite: for it must be noticed, that travellers from all quarters have heard of this country being proverbially good above all others.
In the present time, the settlement of the province is accomplished by five thousand cavalry, mustered by the Názim; in addition to those of the Faujdárs and other vassals, provided no addition be requisite for other services, than those belonging to the usual business of the province.
With regard to the extent and revenue of this country, in the reign of Sultán Muzaffiri III., who was the last of the Gujarát kings, and during the administration of Itimád Khán,k in the Hijra year 979, corresponding with the year of the Hindú era of Vikramáditya 1627,* and with A.D. 1571, the whole collection† from the government lands, and those assigned in Jágír, was 5,84,0050,000, or five arabs,‡ eighty-four krores, and fifty thousand Gujarát tankchas; there being then two laks and three thousand horsemen mustered in the kingdom. There were, in those days, a hundred tankchas to a rupee, and the same is now reckoned at forty dams; so that the whole amount would, at the present time, be equal to five krores and forty-seven laks* of rupees. A sum also of twenty-five laks of hoons, and one krore of ibrahímís, that were two parts greater, being altogether nearly equal to five krores and sixty-two laks of rupees, was collected annually from the kings of the Dekhan,l the European and Arab ports, and from other quarters as hereafter detailed.
Sultán Bahádur,m after capturing the fort of Chitore,n in the year of the Hijra 955,† A.D. 1548, fled from the emperor Nasíru-d-dín Mohammed Humáyún Pádsháh.o On this occasion he took refuge, on board of ship, at the port of Díu,p (where there is a strong fortification surrounded by the sea,) and was fraudulently killed by the Europeans. At this period the Europeans took possession of the above-mentioned harbour, as will be explained in the reign of that prince: and the kingdom of Gujarát soon after going to decay, the tribute from the ports was no longer paid.
During such time as the power and sovereignty of the Gujarát monarchy continued to increase, the several sirkars, and ports, which were then made subject to the government by conquest, were attached as parts of the country. In this manner twenty-five sirkars were obtained, and are named as follow:
| Sirkar* |
| Sirkar Júdhpúrq. |
| Sirkar Jalorer (in Rajputana). |
| Sirkar Nagores† (in Rajputana). |
| Sirkar Bassait (Bassein). |
| Sirkar Manbaiu (Bombay). |
| Sirkar Dammanx (Damaun). |
| Sirkar Rám Nagary. |
| Sirkar Dúngarpúr.z |
| Sirkar Sirkar Bánswáraha. |
| Sirkar Sirohib. |
| Sirkar Kachc. |
| Sirkar Somnát.d |
| Sirkar Dand-Rajpúríe (in the Konkan). |
| Sirkar Ahmadábádf. |
| Sirkar Barodag. |
| Sirkar Bhrochh. |
| Sirkar Nadotei. |
| Sirkar Súratk (Surat). |
| Sirkar Chámpánírl. |
| Sirkar Patanm. |
| Sirkar Sorath*.* |
| Sirkar Navánagaro. |
| Sirkar Godhrahp. |
| Sirkar Múlhírq (in Khandesh). |
| Sirkar Nadarbársup>r (Nandarbar in ditto). |
The personal establishment of Sultán Muzaffir III. and others, at this time, consisted of thirty thousand horsemen, with estates of thirty-two mahls; of which the revenue amounted to ninety laks of rupees,* equal to ninety krores of Gujarát tankchas; and was divided in the following manner:
| Horse. | Tankchas. | |
| Sultán Muzaffirs | 10,000 | 330,000,000 |
| Itimád Khán Wazírt | 9,000 | 300,000,000 |
| Alagh Khán Habshíu | 4,000 | 110,000,000 |
| Jahjahár Khánx | 2,500 | 60,000,000 |
| Maliku-s-Sherky† | 2,500 | 40,000,000 |
| Wajíhu-l-Mulkz and others | 2,000 | 60,000,000 |
| 30,000 | 900,000,000 |
Fifteen krores and fifty laks of Gujarát tankchas, equal to fifteen laks and fifty thousand rupees of revenue, were obtained from the customs and other taxes of the city of Ahmadábád: of which total there were the following items:
| Tankchas. | ||
| The cultivation of the lands in the environs | 5,000,000 | |
| Taxes on vegetables | 100,000,000 | |
| Tax on coinage | 30,000,000 | |
| 13,5,000,000 | . |
making up the sum of thirteen krores and fifty laks of tankchas.
Connected with the police department, the following sums were realized:
| Rupees. | |
| From the office of the Kotwál | 15,000 |
| From the Pán market | 50,000 |
| From the sale of cattle and horses | 35,000 |
| From the sale of lac | 5,000 |
| From the manufacture of wires | 10,000 |
| From the opium market | 5,000 |
| From the silk market | 18,000 |
| From the tax on porterage | 5,000 |
| From the tax on private messengers | 1,500 |
| From the fines on false weights | 5,000 |
| From the tax on shops | 15,000 |
| From the revenue of the 12 Purahs of the city | 3,500 |
| From the collections of the city gate | 13,000 |
| From the other Purahs | 14,000 |
| From the tax on confections and other things | 5,000 |
| 200,000 |
The whole amounting to the sum of two krores of tankchas, or two laks of rupees, as above.
The revenue of the parganahs, that were fixed as a provision for the Sultán and others, altogether amounted to the sum of forty laks and fifty thousand rupees; being in detail as follows:
| Villages. | Rupees. | |
| Parganah Pitláda | 276 | 2,000,000 |
| Parganah Khambáyatb | 6 | 450,000 |
| Parganah Múndahc, the Jágír of Jahjahár Khánd | 84 | 500,000 |
| Parganah Mahmúdábáde | 85 | 700,000 |
| Parganah Nariádf | 36 | 400,000 |
| 487 | 40,50,000 |
Of the amount received from Khambáyat, as inserted above, there were 50,000 rupees from the cultivation of the towns of Dhowan,g Mahmúdpúr,* &c. and 400,000 (four laks) from the collections of the city, tax on supplies, port duties, &c.
Regarding the bandars, or ports, they were twenty-three in number; of which the port of Khambáyat, being registered separately, there were five other places belonging to Gujarát, viz.
| 1 Bandar of Bhroch.i |
| 2 Bandar of Súrat.k |
| 3 Bandar of Ghoga.l |
| 4 Bandar of Khandár.** |
| 5 Bandar of Ránír.n |
which, being put on one side from the total collection of 34,000,000, (thirty-four laks of rupees) left a revenue from the remaining twenty-two parts—
| Mahls. | |
| In the Sirkar of Soratho | |
| In the Sirkar of Bandar† Únahp | 2 |
| In the Sirkar of Diú | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Púrbandar | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Màhwahq | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Patín Diú | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Manglúrr‡ | 2 |
| In the Sirkar of Bandar Taláchahs | 4 |
| In the Sirkar of Nágesart | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Goriyau | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Dúngarx | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Singhánúry | 1 |
| In the Sirkar of Chiklíz | 1 |
| 17 |
amounting to fourteen laks of rupees.
The parts held in jágír by the nobles were as follow.
The jágír of Ikhtiyáru-l-Mulk,a who served the State with ten thousand regular cavalry, consisting of the
| Towns | Rupees. | ||
| Parganah of Ahmadnagarb | 44 | 400,000 | |
| Parganah of Parántic | 84 | 500,000 | |
| Parganah of Jalored | 19 | 200,000 | |
| Parganah of Hursúre | 84 | 300,000 | |
| Parganah of Múrásahf | 162 | 800,000 | |
| Parganah of Mehkar,g containing two hundred and forty-five towns, out of which, however, there were fifty held in Enám by the Rájá of Ídur, and fifty by the Rájá of Dúngarpúr, leaving balance | 145 | 200,000 | |
| Parganah of Píplúdh | 36 | 300,000 | , |
| Parganah of Khutnáli and Mamúrábádk | 44 | 400,000 | |
| The Parganah of Bírpúrl | 165 | 400,000 | |
| The Parganah of Bihalm | 138 | 1,000,000 | |
| 921 | 4,500,000 |
Thus forming a total of eleven parganahs, giving an assignment of revenue for forty-five krores of Gujarát tankchas, or forty-five laks of rupees.
The jágírs of Sayyid Míran,n and Sayyid Hámed,o who were the children of Sayyid Mubárik Khán,p and served the State with four thousand cavalry, consisted of
| Towns. | Tankchas. | |
| The Parganah of Dholkaq | 615 | 160,000,000 |
sixteen krores of tankchas, or sixteen laks of rupees.
The jágírs of Shír Khán Faoládí, with seven thousand horse; of Hasan Jamál,r with five thousand, with the assignment to the Shahzádah for five thousand horse, and of the Rájpúts for three thousand, consisted of
| Kasbah. | Towns. | Tankchas. | |
| City of Patan, its cultivation, internal dues, and police taxes | 160,000 | ||
| Parganah of Patans | 419 | 2,650,000 | |
| Parganah of Barnagart | 13 | 8,500,000 | |
| Parganah of Bísalnagaru | 1 | 45,000 | |
| Parganah of Bíjapúrx | 98 | 617,000 | |
| Parganah of Khirálúy | 110 | 580,000 | |
| Parganah of Pálanpúrz | 180 | 525,000 | |
| Parganah of Dísaa | 23 | 285,000 | |
| Parganah of Jaloreb | 400 | 2,600,000 | |
| Parganah of Karhíc | 299 | 2,800,000 | |
| 18,762,000 |
The whole collection of ten parganahs.
When the current value of the tankcha in the Patan parganah was less than of Gujarát generally, but was fixed in Jhaláwárd and Karhí at the same rate as that of Ahmadábád, the whole collection was one arab and sixteen krores of tankchas; being equal to one krore and sixteen laks of rupees.
The jágírs of Rustam Kháne and Jangíz
Khánf, the sons of Imád-ul-Mulk, who served
the State with twenty-five thousand cavalry,
and had charge of five tahnahs,g each tahnah
having five thousand horse, consisted of twenty-seven
mahls, or parganahs, yielding a revenue
of two krores and twenty-five thousand mahmúdís
and changízís;*
which, according to
| Mahl. | Towns. | Changízís. | |
| Of which sum the Sirkar of the port of Súrat, including port duties, provision-tax, and the rent of the cultivated land in the neighbourhood, yielded | 1 | 993 | 500,000 |
Also the Sirkar of
| Mahl. | Towns. | Changízís. | |
| Baroda,h and the cultivation of its environs, | 1 | 500,000 | |
| Parganah, and country round Baroda | 208 | 3,800,000 | |
| Dubhúei | 44 | 800,000 | |
| Shenúrk* | 46 | 500,000 | |
| Bahádurpúrl | 27 | 200,000 | |
| Saowankhírahm | 82 | 200,000 | |
| 407 | 6,000,000 |
The above, consisting of seven mahls, or parganahs, and four hundred and seven towns, yielding a revenue of sixty laks of changízís.
Also Sirkar Bhrochn—
| Towns. | Changízís. | |
| Parganah of Bhroch, and neighbourhood, not including the port | 161 | 3000,000 |
| Parganah of Hansúto | 36 | 400,000 |
| Parganah of Dejbárahp | 12 | 150,000 |
| Parganah of Goralbárahq* | 12 | 200,000 |
| Parganah of Úrpárr† | 106 | 1200,000 |
| Parganah of Chármándwís | 1 | 50,000 |
| Parganah of Kulaht | 36 | 400,000 |
| Parganah of Jambúsíru | 56 | 800,000 |
| Parganah of Oklasírx | 55 | 600,000 |
| Parganah of Atlísary | 36 | 200,000 |
| Parganah of Tarkísárz | 12 | 100,000 |
| Parganah of Ámoda and | 36 | 400,000 |
| Parganah of Makbúlábádb | ||
| 559 | 7,500,000 |
Being in all twelve mahls, or parganahs, five hundred and fifty-nine towns, yielding a revenue of seventy-five laks of changízís.
Also Sirkar Chámpánírc—
| ; | Towns. |
| Sirkar Chámpánír, Parganah Chámpánír, and country adjacent | 87 |
| Sáolíd* | 54 |
| Dahwade | 100 |
| Hálolf | 34 |
| Taimúrahbásnahg | 106 |
| Rájodh | 25 |
| Jhálodi | 17 |
| 423 |
Being in all eight mahls, or parganahs, four hundred and twenty-three villages, yielding a revenue of fifteen laks of changízís.
The jágír of Nasiru-l-Mulk,* who served the State with twelve thousand horse, consisted of
| Changízís. | |
| Parganah Nadarbár | 25,00,000 |
| Parganah Sultánpúr | 15,00,000 |
| Parganah Hissabeh and Nerrada | 10,00,000 |
Amounting in all to three mahls, yielding a revenue of fifty laks of changízís, and which are equal to twenty-five krores of tankchas, or twenty-five laks of rupees.
Moreover, Bohrjí, zamíndár of Baglánah,* possessed the forts of Múlhír and Sahler; and performed service with three thousand horse.
The jágír of the Kamilu-l-Mulk* consisted of the Sirkar of Godhrah, containing twelve mahls or parganahs, out of which the revenue of two mahls was settled on the zamíndár of Súth and Chattárál Kúlí, for the services they performed. Deducting these, there remain ten mahls; yielding a revenue of fifty laks of changízís, being about twenty laks of rupees; or being, in detail—
| Towns. | Changízís. | |
| Parganah Godhrah | 171 | 2000,000 |
| Parganah Sehra | 24 | 1500,000 |
| Parganah Míral | 42 | 400,000 |
| Parganah Samdah, called sometimes Nasirábád | 42 | 800,000 |
| Parganah Dodah | 36 | 200,000 |
| Parganah Ambábád | 42 | 200,000 |
| Parganah Jhálod | 84 | 700,000 |
| Parganah Morwah | 24 | 10,00,000 |
| Parganah Kaddhánah | 24 | 200,000 |
| Parganah Dahmodm | 12 | 200,000 |
| 501 | 7200,000 |
Being, in all, ten mahls, five hundred and one villages, yielding a revenue of seventy-two laks of changízís.
The jágír of Ghaznaví Khán, son of Malik Khánjí Jalori, who served the State with seven thousand horse, amounted, as separately detailed, to the sum of ten krores of tankchas , or ten laks of rupees—
| Towns. | Rupees. | |
| The mint of Jalore, consisting of eleven mahls, and Talúka Júdhpúr, from which the talpatn tax was taken | 600 | 300,070 |
| From the government lands, of which the fourth part belonged to the zamíndárs serving Ghaznaví Khán | .. | 200,005 |
| From the Talúka of Nagore, the fort of which, after being several years ruined, was restored, at the request of Malik Khanjí, by the Sultán, where half the lands of the Parganahs belonged to the wultuns of the Rájpúts, serving under Gháznaví, with two thousand horse | .. | 255,000 |
| From the Talúka of Mírtah, in the Sirkar of Nagore, of which half the Parganah belonged to the zamíndárs enjoying the fourth part of the revenue; and who, under Ghaznaví Khán, with two thousand horse, were to assist the king of Ahmadábád, in case of war, with six thousand horse | .. | 200,000 |
| 955,145 |
Thus amounting in all to nine laks, fifty-five thousand one hundred and forty-five rupees.
Moreover, Rai Jey Sing, the zamíndár of Rájpípalah, who served the State with three thousand horse and one thousand foot, was excused the payment of the tribute.
The jágírs of Fat'h Khán,* Rustam Khán, and others of the Balúchi tribe, who served the State with fourteen thousand horse, consisted of the
| Mahmúdís.p | |
| Parganah of Rádhanpúr | 1500,000 |
| Parganah of Summí | 600,000 |
| Parganah of Múnjpúr | 800,000 |
| Parganah of Kakre | 700,000 |
| Parganah of Tírwarrah | 800,000 |
| Parganah of Morwarah | 400,000 |
| Parganah of Santhalpúr | 300,000 |
| Parganah of Thartád | 1500,000 |
| Parganah of Múrbí | 1000,000 |
| 76,00,000 |
Forming a total of nine mahls, or parganahs, which yielded a revenue of seventy-five laks of mahmúdís, being about equal to thirty laks of rupees.
Moreover, the Rájpút landholders retained the revenue of their hereditary estates, or wultuns, on performing service to the government, viz.—
| Horse. | |
| Púnja Rahtore, the Ídur zamíndár, keeping up | 2,000 |
| Rana Sahumul, zamíndár of Dúngarpúr, retaining | 1,000 |
| Waghílah Sahlah, who, with the enjoyment of the whole grásq of Jhaláwár, retained | 1,000 |
| Jam Sahna, who had four hundred grássia dependents in the province of Sorath | 4,000 |
| Jahra Khangar,r the zamíndár of Búhj, who possessed 1409 towns, served the government with | 5,000 |
The jágír of Amín Khán, Fat'h Khán, and Tatar Khán Ghorí, who with nine thousand horse served the government, consisted of Talúka.
| Rupees. | |
| Júnagarh, containing eighty-seven mahls, of which seventeen mahls, including the ports, being counted separately, there remain seventy mahls; of which ten parganahs and ten kasbahs yielded a collection of one krore of rupees, equal to one krore of ibrahímís and twenty-five laks of húns | 10,000,000 |
And, though there was no proper government, such was collected to the time of Sultán Bahádur.
Moreover, the whole number of bandars* amounted to eighty-four; from which, deducting the twenty-three belonging to Gujarát, and the sirkar of Sorath, which were accounted for separately, there remained sixty-one, of which the collection amounted to one krore of ibrahímís.
Regarding the port of Diú, and the kasbahs in possession of Malik Riyáz, and Malik Toghán, these were attached to the country of Sorath, and thus named—
| Bandar Diú, | |||
| Bandar Bhím, | |||
| Bandar Madhapúr, | |||
| Bandar Kajbin; | |||
| Ibrahímís. | |||
| being in all four mahls, yielding a revenue of two laks | 2,000,000 | ||
From the bandar of Damman, a dependency of Sorath, where there were seven hundred towns, a collection was made annually, amounting to forty-three laks of rupees,
| Ibrahímís. | |
| Equal to forty-five laks of ibrahímís | 45,00,000 |
The ports of the Europeans, being in all twenty-five mahls, yielding a revenue of
| Ibrahímís. | |
| Twenty laks of Ibrahímís | 20,00,000 |
The names of these were—
| Bandar Chaiwal.* |
| Bandar Dabúl. |
| Bandar Beláwal. |
| Bandar Bassai (Bassein). |
| Bandar Danda.* |
| Bandar Panwelly. |
| Bandar Akassi. |
| Bandar Sorab. |
| Bandar Kallian. |
| Bandar Bhímry (near Bombay). |
| Bandar Dand-Rájpúrí. |
| Bandar Goba.* |
| Bandar Manbai (Bombay). |
| Bandar Kharríkot. |
| Bandar Káhilan. |
| Bandar Kokha.* |
| Bandar Dass. |
| Bandar Midrút. |
| Bandar Kalsí. |
| Bandar Málábár. |
| Bandar Maldeo. |
| Bandar Dhaora. |
| Bandar Nandar. |
| Bandar Shashtí. |
| Bandar Navánagar. |
From the bandars of the Arabs and others, that were twenty-six mahls, there was a revenue of twenty-five laks of ibrahímís. Their names were—
| Bandar Maskat. |
| Bandar Ekraneh. |
| Bandar Basrah (Bussora). |
| Bandar Lochi. |
| Bandar Lahrí (Larí Bunder, in Sind). |
| Bandar Harmúz (Ormus, in the Persian Gulf). |
| Bandar Sawah* (in Persia). |
| Bandar Níkú. |
| Bandar Dehnasrí (in Sina). |
| Bandar Milgat. |
| Bandar Makkína. |
| Bandar Maltah (Malta ?). |
| Bandar Súl.* |
| Bandar Hodirwah. |
| Bandar Púnamah. |
| Bandar Badirjí Khán. |
| Bandar Bidar (a city in the Dekhan). |
| Bandar Purbhaí. |
| Bandar Bindasin. |
| Bandar Bídarchín. |
| Bandar Mallakhah (Malacca). |
| Bandar Bedrassa. |
| Bandar Kalliyán.* |
| Bandar Dhar. |
| Bandar Rákal. |
| Bandar Java. |
Regarding the English ports, there were four mahls, and those of the Dutch (Wullendey) two mahls, being together six mahls, paying a tribute of ten laks of ibrahímís.
In addition to the above, Nezen Sháh Bheres, Ádil Sháh Bíjapúrí, Imád Sháh Berárí, Kutb Sháh Gulkandaví, and Rájá Alí Khán Burhánpúrí, gave twenty-five laks of húns in tribute yearly.
Inasmuch as many may doubt the truth of what has been now related, let them compare it with what has been written in the Táríkhi Sikandarí, regarding the power and greatness, the possessions, and wealth, of the Sultáns and Nobles of Gujarát, and they may there inform themselves. If I had written even more than I have done, I should be justified: for of these things there is proof in the written account of the power of Malik Ayáz, the slave of the Sultán Mohammed Begarrah. The remains of superb buildings, such as forts, mosques, tanks, and wells, yet to be seen, also testify of these things; and though there be no mountains in the neighbourhood of the city of Ahmadábád, yet all the buildings are of stone brought from a distance.
The detail of the sirkars and tribute, copied from the registers of Múl-Chand (who with his forefathers was the keeper of the records to the Nizámat), has been inserted here; and, as no other list but this was obtainable, many names of ports and other places may be erroneous. It is a tradition, however, that Sikandar ben Bahlúl, the King of Dehlí, said, “the magnificence of the kings of Dehlí consists of wheat and barley, whilst that of the King of Gujarát, who has eighty-four ports under him, has its foundation on coral and pearls.”*
A survey of the extent and boundaries of the province was made when taken possession of by Akbar; and embraced its súbahs, sirkars, parganahs, and towns. It was then ascertained that, from Bánswárah and Málwa, on the east, to Dwarka or Jiggut, on the west, this province was two hundred and ninety kroh long. Its breadth was found to be three hundred kroh, measuring in the following manner: from the city of Ahmadábád north to Birgaon, in the sirkar of Jalore, and súbah of Ajmír, one hundred and ten kroh; from the city south to the port of Súrat, one hundred and ten kroh; and thence to the passage of the mountains, at Khanapúr, situated on the borders of Khándesh and Baglánah, a distance of eighty kroh.
At this time there were twenty-five sirkars belonging to Gujarát, as before detailed, nine of which, being conquests by the Gujarát kings from other súbahs, were afterwards attached to their original countries. This arrangement was effected during the provincial government of Shahábu-d-dín Ahmad Khán, A. Hij. 986; A.D. 1578, by an order from the Emperor; and the names of these sirkars were—
| Sirkar Júdhpúr. | |
| Sirkar Jalore. | |
| Sirkar Nagore, united to the súbah of Ajmír. | |
| Sirkar Múlhír | attached to Khándesh. |
| Sirkar Nadarbár | |
| Sirkar Bassein | parts of the Tul-Konkan, given over to the Europeans. |
| Sirkar Manbai | |
| Sirkar Damman | |
| Sirkar Dand-Rájpúrí | made the possession of the Nizám Sháhí and government of Ahmadnagar. |
Of the remaining sixteen sirkars, which belonged to the Dehlí government, ten were entered in the imperial registers; but, as the sirkar of Súrat had been assigned over to the revenue writers, nine sirkars only are entered in the collection from the súbah of Gujarát, namely—
| Mahls. | |
| Sirkar Ahmadábád | 33 |
| Sirkar Bhroch | 14 |
| Sirkar Patan | 17 |
| Sirkar Baroda | 4 |
| Sirkar Nadote | 12 |
| Sirkar Chámpánír | 13 |
| Sirkar Godhrah | 11 |
| Sirkar Sorath | 63 |
| Sirkar Navánagar, called also Islámnagar | 17 |
| 184 |
The latter, during the reign of Sháh Álam I., was seized on by the Jam, a zamíndár of that part; and is now in his possession.
The whole number of sirkars, arranged as above, contained one hundred and eighty-four mahls, including cities and parganahs, in which there were fifteen ports and 10,465 towns, exclusive of those possessed by the zamíndárs, and not inserted in the revenue records. The fields belonging to these were, in the time of Rájá Todar Mal, measured by Akbar's order, and found to contain 12,360,594 bígahs and nine biswahs; out of which there were 8,374,498 bígahs* and three biswahs fit for cultivation. The remainder consisted of waste land.
The sirkars of Sorath, Godhrah, and Islámnagar, which, with forty-nine mahls of other sirkars, were not measured, do not appear in the revenue registers.
The sirkars not included in the revenue assessment, and belonging to zamíndárs, paid the peshkash (tribute), when enforced, to the governors of the province. These were,
| Sirkar Dúngarpúr |
| Sirkar Bánswárah |
| Sirkar Kach, called Suleimán-Nagar |
| Sirkar Sirohí |
| Sirkar Somnáth |
| Sirkar Rám Nagar |
of which the peshkash had been settled, however, on the revenue writers at the port of Súrat. Though the above, in former times, were not dependent on the Díwánship of the province, the collection therefrom, including the sirkar of Súrat, with the remissions and deductions on the public increase, amounted to 799,645,213 dams, even to the reign of Mohammed Sháh.
Twenty krores, eighty-two laks, six hundred and forty-two dams (20,8200,642) of the above sum were fixed for the imperial use and royal expenses. A sum, also, of 2,2000,000 dams was set aside for the Nizámat, and personal jágírs of the Sirdárs: so that, without the tribute from the zamíndárs, there was the sum of twenty-four laks of rupees belonging to the Názim. The remainder was settled to pay the Omarás, Mansabdárs, and other servants.
Nearly one krore and twenty laks of dams, collected from fifty thousand bígahs of land and one hundred and three villages, with one lak and forty thousand rupees, in money, were variously given away, as rewards and pensions to religious orders and establishments, agreeably to instructions from the government.
The whole annual revenue, at present, is one krore, twenty-three laks, and fifty thousand rupees, whilst the whole annual expence amounts to one krore of rupees. In former times, however, the surplus revenue payable to government amounted to sixty laks of rupees, not including the peshkash paid to the Sirkar, and to the Názim or provincial governor.
The close affinity between the Hálí Kanara letters and those of Cave inscriptions justifies the conclusion. The Cave temples on the Island of Salsette are yet called the Caves of Kanara; and I possess a Sanskrit grant of land, found at Bhándúp, on that island, in which the Rájá, then reigning at Tanna, specifies his court was composed of five Ministers; one of which, Srí Karna, was particularly consulted on making peace or war in the Karnatic. The Rájá's name is Chín Rájá Deva, who claims descent from the Rájás of Tagara, and from the same family as that of the Sanskrit grant translated by Sir W. Jones (A.R. I. p. 357). This dates anterior to the grant now in my possession, which is dated Sáliváhana, 948, A.D. 1026. A branch of this family, or the Silhára tribe of Rájpúts, was at the same time reigning above the Gháts. The capital was Panalla, near Kolápúr.
↩The Rájá Taringiní is a Sanskrit history of Kashmír, the substance of which has been given to the world (see A. R. XV.) by the learned Professor Wilson; but, as it bears much internal evidence of being traditionary and inaccurate, I cannot make it an exception.
↩These are called, in Sanskrit, Rájá Vansávalís, Máhátmyas, and Charitras.
↩See Ward's Hindoos, III. p. 450; and Wilford's Geography of the Puránas, A.R. VIII. p. 336.
↩Govaráshtra was the country about Goa, and is the same as the district otherwise named Hayaga. Some geographers would extend its northern limits on the Bombay side of Sadáseogarh, and thus contract those of the Konkana.—See Wilson's Kashmír, A. R. XV. p. 47; and Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas, I. p. 4.
↩It is so named in a grant of land by Crishna Ráya of Vijayanagar, or Bijnaggar, dated Sáliváhana, 1448; A.D. 1526.
↩Berbera is the Barbarike of Arian's Periplus. The name of Berbera was originally applied to a more northern region, as were most of the Sanskrit geographical divisions known in the south; plainly indicating that the Bráhmans introduced the language and the customs from the north.
↩Briggs's Ferishta, I. p. 17.
↩See Colonel Tod's Military Service of Rájastan, I. p. 147.
↩See Colebrooke's translation of an Inscription from the Fíroz Lát, A.R. VII. p. 180. in reference to the former; and Asiatic Researches, IX. p. 441. XV. p. 461. regarding the latter.
↩See Professor Wilson's able Introduction to the M'Kenzie Collection.
↩Two grants from this family are in my possession, and two have been already published.—See Asiatic Researches, I. p. 357; and Bombay Literary Transactions, III. p. 393.
↩Grants of land by Kákka Rájá, dated Sáliváhana, 894, or A.D. 972.
↩Wilson's M'Kenzie Coll. Intr. c. vi.
↩See Translation of Inscriptions from Abú, A. R. XVI. p. 322.
↩Grants of this tribe, dating A.D. 1134, translated by Mr. Colebrooke.—Trans. R.A.S. vol. I. p. 231.
↩Cavelly Boria's Account of the Jainas, A. R. IX. p. 246.
↩The Sunnís are those who believe the Mohammedan traditions, and follow the three first Khalifs; and the Shías are the followers of Alí and the twelve Imáms. The Turks adhere to the former, the Persians to the latter.
↩Life of Firdausí, in the Tazkerat-us-Shoará, or Lives of the Poets, by Daulat Sháh.
↩The Habíbu-s-Sair calls it Batnah, but Colonel Briggs's Translation of Ferishta has Bhateea. It is the same place as that called Bhulneer in Arrowsmith's Map.
↩See Ferishta, the Habíbu-s-Sair, and Price's Mohammedan History, on the authority of the Kholásata-l-Akhbár. Ferishta makes Mahmúd march to Bhátnah, Hij. 395; and the following year against Multán, to punish its refractory Mohammedan governor. The latter did not take place until after the war with his father-in-law, Elík Khán, if we may trust the other authorities. The Habíbu-s-Sair, and Kholásata-l-Akhbár, were written more than an hundred years prior to Ferishta, and are, in this matter, more trustworthy.
↩This, according to Ferishta, would be his fourth expedition: but that author, who has closely followed the Tabkát Akbarí, having misplaced the expedition to Multán, as noticed in a former note, here repeats the story of a renegado Hindú, named Sewakpál, having swerved from his allegiance. There was no such person, as appears; and the mistake has arisen from having placed the expedition to Multán before the war with Elík Khán, instead of after it. We are not informed how this Sewakpál obtained power; and in some manuscripts he is called Záb-Sah, being an evident error of the copyist's for Nawá-Sah; signifying “grandchild,” a name which was applied to the revolted governor of Multán, Abul Fattah Daod, the grandson of Shaikh Hamíd Lodí. Price, in his Mohammedan History, has also mistaken the name, and calls him Nowásah Sháh.
↩Briggs's Ferishta, vol. I. p. 41.
↩The seat of government in the Dehlí province appears to have been Mírát.
↩Ferishta, vol. I. p. 47.
↩Called, in Sanskrit, Vipása; from which the Greeks got Hyphasis.
↩The Hij. year 399, given for the march to Pesháwar, or the previous year A.D. commenced the 5th September, A.D. 1008; and, as the spring season, when he left Ghazní, would not commence till A.D. 1009, he must have spent the summer in Kábúl, and set out for Hindústán about October.
↩In Mandelslo's Indian Travels, p. 14, it is mentioned by the name of Kala Maka.
↩Ferishta makes Mahmúd march back from Ghór, to attack Multán in the previous year; and if such had taken place, it would constitute the sixth expedition. It is mentioned in the Tabkát Akbarí, from which Ferishta borrowed; but it is not noticed by the prior authorities, which I possess. Having, therefore, doubts regarding it, I have rejected his account.
↩Habíbu-s-Saír.
↩Consult Mr. Elphinstone's Kabool, Vol. II. p. 127, for an account of this people.
↩Briggs's Ferishta, I. p. 65.—There is again much confusion in Ferishta's account of this expedition, which he places in Hij. 412; and makes Mahmúd march to Bulnat, Hij. 404; though the narratives evidently refer to the same places and transactions.
↩This is the name of the river which joins that of Ghúrband, and gives name to a pass which leads through the Hindú Kúsh from Kábúl to Turkistán.
↩Ferishta, and the Habíbu-s-Sair. As the spring season is, however, mentioned, and as Hij. 409 commenced the 20th May, A.D. 1018, Mahmúd must have left Ghazní in the end of the preceding Hijira year 408; which would correspond with the spring of A.D. 1018. Mohammedan historians, not attending to the fact of the seasons, west of the Indus, being the same as those in Europe, and forgetting the particular commencement of the Hij. years, are constantly committing such blunders.
↩Ferishta quotes the Habíbu-s-Sair, in asserting that the Rájá of Kanauj adopted the faith of Islám; but this history makes no such assertion: and it is evident, from a comparison of the two accounts, that Ferishta has transferred the narrative of the Habíbu-s-Sair regarding this nameless fort, and made it applicable to Kanauj.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩Ferishta.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩Tabakát Akbarí.
↩The Habíbu-s-Sair calls him Jaipál; who is the same, no doubt, as Jaipál II. the son of Ananga Pál: but otherwise called Koráh, from the appellation of his tribe.
↩Ferishta and the Tabakát Akbarí.
↩The author of the Tabakát Akbarí places Mahmúd's first march to Kálinjar, Hij. 410, or the year after he had taken Kanauj; but Ferishta gives Hij. 412 as the date. The second march is placed, by the former, Hij. 413, and by the latter, 414: but either one or both must be wrong.
↩See Briggs's Ferishta I.
↩See Ferishta and the Tabakát Akbarí.
↩Appendix to the Mirát Ahmadí.
↩This great temple, in Málwá, was destroyed A.D. 1233. See Briggs's Ferishta I. p. 24.
↩ Derived from three Sanskrit words,
Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩Rauzatu-s-saffá, quoted in the Mirát Ahmadí.
↩My copy of the Habíbu-s-Sair says ten thousand, and is supported in this account by the appendix to the Mirát Ahmadí, which quotes the authority of the Rauzatu-s-saffá: but Colonel Briggs's Ferishta says only two thousand.
↩Ferishta.
↩The Habíbu-s-Sair quotes the following verse from Shaikh Faríd-ud-dín Attár, as an authority for this opinion:—
“The army of Mahmúd found in Somnáth the idol whose name
was Lát.” Herodotus (B. III. c. 8.) notices Alilat as one of the
idols worshipped by the ancient Arabs; but makes it a female
deity, by identifying it with Urania. The name of this goddess
is probably from the Arabic
See translation of an inscription from Abú, dated Samvat 727, A.D. 671.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩(Habíbu-s-Sair.) This apartment was the recess, which is placed at the extreme end of the temples dedicated to Siva. Six pillars are as many as could be, in all probability, studded with jewels, and no more are mentioned in my copy of the Habíbu-s-Sair. Others, who have fancied that this description applied to the whole body of the temple, enumerate the pillars from thirty-six to fifty-six.
↩This was a title signifying supreme lord, and was applied to the Rájá of Nahrwálah.
↩Tabakát Akbarí.
↩Ferishta.
↩See the Tazkaratu-s-Shoará, by Daulat Sháh, for his treatment of Firdausí.
↩The province of Ghazní is the same as that called Zabulistán, when distinguished from Kábúl.
↩See Gibbon's Roman Empire, vol. x., p. 83, where they are called Bowides.
↩Ferishta.
↩Jurján, on the Caspian, must be carefully distinguished from Jurjistán, Ghirjistán, or Georgia, which also formed part of the Ghaznían empire.
↩This is the title given him by the Tabakát Akbarí; but Lieut.-Col. Briggs's Ferishta calls him Depal Hurry. We may conclude that this person was a follower of Buddha, as his title of Harinath is a designation of that deity, who, in the Sanskrit inscription from Buddha Gayá, or Bahár, is called Hari, and Harísa. (See A.R. I. p. 284.)
↩In Colonel Briggs's Ferishta he is sometimes called Madood.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩Ferishta.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩They resided, as would appear, at Naddia, situated near the junction of the Jellinghi and Kásimbázár rivers.
↩See A. R. Vol. V. p. 132. The date of the inscription, commemorating the construction of edifices dedicated to Buddha, is Samvat 1083, A.D. 1027. Of the princes named, the first was Mahípál, whose sons were Sthirapála, and Kámapála.
↩On the genealogical list of this family, see A.R. V. p. 133, and Vol. XV. p. 465.
↩A. R. Vol. I. p. 123 and 133. The date of the first is the 33rd year of the Rájá's reign, and not of the general era called Samvat, which commences fifty-six years before Christ. It was the custom for the Balhara emperors, or Lord Protectors of India, to date their reign from the last of their predecessor: and of this we are informed by the two Mohammedan travellers of Renaudot, who wrote in Hij. 596, A.D. 1173. It has been usual to place the date of these travels as far back as the end of the ninth century of our era, or Hij. 264; simply because the commentator, Abú-Zaid al-Hasan, of Siraf, has mentioned a revolution which happened in China at this time. But, as the original manuscript contained observations on the extent and circumference of Damascus, and of other cities subject to Núra-d-dín, uncle of the celebrated Saladin, with the date when it was written, Hij. 569, the evidence goes to prove that the travels could not have taken place earlier than the end of the eleventh or twelfth century of our era.
↩See A. R. IV. p. 433.
↩The Gúkerna mentioned in the grant is Gúkerna on the Malabar coast, and not Gokernak on the frontiers of Kashmír.
↩See M'Kenzie Collection, Vol. II. p. 13.
↩These are the barbarian philosophers of the Greeks, who were called Sarmanæ. See Opera Clementis Alexandrini, edit. Sylburg. fol., p. 305.
↩A. R. Vol. X. p. 231.
↩The date of this grant is Samvat era 1234, A.D. 1177. See A. R. XV. p. 450.
↩In the Buddal inscription, A. R. I. p. 134.
↩Sanskrit grant in my possession, dated Sáliváhana 980, A.D. 1058.
↩See Scott's Ferishta, Vol. I. Introduc. p. XI.
↩See Introduc. to the M'Kenzie Collection, p. XCI. and CXV.
↩See Introduc. to the M'Kenzie Collection, p. CXV.
↩See A. R. IX. p. 428.
↩Básava Purána extracted in the M'Kenzie Collection, Vol. II. p. 10.
↩See incriptions and grants relative to this family, A. R. p. 447, and Vol. IX. p. 441.
↩See A. R. Vol. IX. p. 441.
↩Ferishta.
↩See Mongír grant, A. R. I. p. 128.
↩See Buddal Inscription, p. 13. A. R. I. p. 136.
↩The sea coast, at the summit of the bay of Bengal, from point Godaveri to Cape Negrais is known in the Puránas by the name of Kalinga, or a country abounding with creeks. In the end of the first century of our era, it was so known to the Roman traders: for Pliny tells us, that the people called Calingæ coast hard upon the sea (Book 17, chap. XVII). In chap. XIX, he gives a most accurate description of them: “When you are over the Ganges, the first region upon the coast that you set foot into is that of the Gandaridæ and the Calingæ, called Parthiales: (Quest. Thus named from the people having the manners of Parthians?) The king of this country hath in ordinary for his wars eighty thousand foot, one thousand horse, and seven hundred elephants.”
↩It originally included Arcot and Madras.
↩See Mr. Sterling's account of Orissa, A. R. XV. p. 267.
↩Mahávalipuram, now known by the name of the Seven Pagodas, is situated to the south of Madras. An account of the inscriptions, by Dr. Babington, will be found in Vol. II. Trans. R. A. S. p. 258; and further information may be collected from the papers of Messrs. Chambers and Goldingham; A. R. Vol. I. p. 145, and V. p. 69.
↩Ferishta.
↩See translation of a grant of land by Mr. Colebrooke in A. R. IX. p. 441. The person who made the grant was the last Rájá of Kanauj, who, by some error, is there called by the name of his father Vijaya Chandra Deva. It is plainly stated in the grant that it was given on the occasion of his inauguration as Yava Rájá; and here Vijaya Chandra Deva could not possibly be meant; since the Mohammedan annals inform us that Jaya Chandra, when slain in battle by the troops of Mohammed Ghorí, had attained extreme old age. It is evident from another grant by this family, (A. R. XV. p. 449,) that Vijaya Chandra and Jaya Chandra were father and son; but Mr. Wilson, in his comments, appears to be wrong when he assigns the first grant to Vijaya Chandra.
↩The Habíbu-s-Sair says, that when Mohammed Bakhtiár Khiljí, one of the nobles of Kutbu-d-dín Aibuk, first Mohammedan king of Dehlí, took possession of Gaur and Bengal, A.D. 1203, the Rájá Lakamír had been in possession of his throne seventy years. He had probably succeeded as a minor, and must have commenced reigning A.D. 1133. This will be found to agree exactly with Abul-Fazl's account of his era, from which the people of Bengal date their transactions. When Akbar issued the firman for establishing the Ilahí era, in Hij. 993, the era of Lakshmana Sinha was then in its 465th year, and must have consequently commenced Hij. 528, or A.D. 1133. Ferishta is therefore in error when he places the first Mohammedan conquest of Bengal in Hij. 587, A.D. 1191.
↩On the authority of the Kholásatu-l-Akhbár.
↩Habíbu-s-Sair.
↩The Sanskrit inscriptions from Abú, A.R. XV. p. 290 and 301, declare Bhíma Deva to be of the Chálukya race, and not of the Bajhíla, as asserted by the Mirát Ahmadí.
↩Ferishta.
↩Táríkhi Alfí and Tabakát Akbarí. Colonel Briggs's Ferishta makes the troops capture Behtenda, but they appear to have kept more to the east.
↩Both these places are south from Sirhind, and immediately west from the Gogur River.
↩Legendary history commonly names his tribe the Chohan; but the inscription from Hansi, dated A.D. 1168 (A.R. XV. p. 444), says—“He was an autumnal moon for an ornament to the firmament of the tribe of the Gohilanta.” This is excellent authority, and proves that the name of Chohan was only adopted about the time.
↩Táríkhi Alfí. Ferishta says, that he was pursued; but this author has blended two different battles into one; and so frequently mixes up his narrative with fabulous accounts, manufactured in India, that, though he may be considered on the whole a good historian, many of his assertions must not be implicitly relied on. Ferishta was only a compiler, and not always a judicious one. He could not have extensively studied the history of the country, or the bearing of facts, and is very contradictory in his dates at different places.
↩Colonel Briggs's Ferishta has Ghor, but he did not reside there, as appears.
↩Táríkhi Alfí.
↩Taríkhi Alfí.
↩Ferishta. This place is fourteen miles south of Thánesur, and is inserted in Mr. Elphinstone's map of Kábúl.
↩Ferishta calls it the Sursutty (Saraswati) River, which is not far distant, and has erred through his ignorance of geography.
↩Táríkhi Alfí.
↩A sacrifice performed by a universal monarch, attended by all his tributary princes.
↩Táríkhi Alfí and Ferishta.
↩The Jaina and Buddhist systems of faith were of old very little removed from each other; and the differences which now justify a division appear to be of modern origin.
↩(Táríkhi Alfí.) Mr. Wilford, in his essay on Vikramáditya and Sáliváhana (A.R. IX. p. 203), has committed a remarkable anachronism, by ascribing the conquest of Kakha Ráj, or Cachar, with Rangamatti, or Kausumba, to Mahmúd of Ghazní, in A.D. 1017.
↩Ferishta.
↩Táríkhi Alfí.
↩On the united authority of the Táríkhi Alfí and Ferishta.
↩These are called Wallin and Darabarz by Ferishta; and are mentioned in the Inscrip. XVI. and XVIII. from Abú, translated by Mr. Wilson, A.R. vol. XVI. The magnificent ruins of Chandravati, situated on the western face of the Aravalli Mountains of Rájputana, were visited not long since by Sir Charles Colville, and several other gentlemen. This ancient city is only fourteen miles east of Abú.
↩Ferishta.
↩Commonly called Oude in the maps.
↩The same elephant, no doubt, that was taken from the Rájá of Benares.
↩These facts have been strangely confounded by Mr. Wilford, in his essay of Vikramáditya and Sáliváhana, A.R. IX., p. 190; and Mr. Wilson, in following him, has committed a similar mistake in his comments on the Abú inscriptions, A.R. XVI., p. 326. The Laka, or Lagam Mír, of Mírkhond, author of the Habíbu-s-Sair, has been considered the same with Lakha Múl Deo, of Gujarát; but the Chalúkya Rájá of Nahrwálah, and the Voidya monarch of Gaor, had no connexion with each other; and Gujarát was never invaded by Mohammed Bakhtiár Khiljí, as supposed by Wilford.
↩In the original the date is 1120, but is an evident error of the copyist's; as the author says, in another place, that it was written forty years after the destruction of the Gujarát monarchy, which took place in Hij. 980. The author of the Mirát Sikandarí moreover mentions himself as being concerned in Gujarát transactions which preceded the death of Akbar.
↩This is a vitreous oxide of lead.
↩This era begins 56 years before the Christian era, and that number must be subtracted from it to make them correspond.
↩The province of Gujarát, when most flourishing under its own Mohammedan kings, consisted of twenty-five sirkars, or districts; many of which had been conquered from the neighbouring provinces. The whole of the revenue, at that time, amounted to five arabs, eighty-four krores, and fifty thousand tankchas, equal to 2,336,002,000 dams. When the country was conquered by Akbar, a new political distribution of the districts took place and Gujarát then consisted of nine sirkars. It is curious to contrast the original revenue of the province, when independent, with what it afterwards became, under the emperors of Dehlí. The statements which are given on the authority of Gladwin's translation of the Ayín Akbarí, Frazer's Life of Nádir Sháh, and the Dastúr-ul-Amal of the empire, by Thakor Lál, are as follows:
Revenue of Gujarát when independent,
| Consisting of | 25 | Sirkars | 2,336,020,000 | dams. |
| Akbar's reign | 9 | do. | 26,738,1619 | |
| Jahángír's do. | 9 | do. | 50,000,000 | |
| Aurangzíb's do. | 9 | do. | 60,7849,135 | |
| Mohammed Sháh's | 9 | do. | 48,7344,000 |
The above exhibits the revenue greatest in the time of Aurangzíb, and least in that of Akbar; a prince who did not exact too much from the people.
↩According to the Indian computation, one hundred thousand rupees form a lak, one hundred laks one krore, one hundred krorea one arab, one hundred arabs one kharrab, one hundred kharrabs one sank.
↩The amount ought to be five krores and eighty-four laks of rupees.
↩There is here a mistake. It was taken in the month of Ramazan A. H. 941; March, A.D. 1535.
↩ A sirkar, or district, is called tauman
Nagore, which is eighty miles N.W. of Ajmír, is now subject to Júdhpúr.
↩Sorath, or the ancient Sauráshtra, and the same as the Syrastra vicus of Ptolemy's geography, must not be confounded with Súrat, now usually called Surat in the maps. The former is in the most western side of Gujarát, and in that part now called Kahtiwar: and is said to encompass the mountains of Júnagarh to the distance of thirty miles. The fort of Mangrole, generally included in this district, is the Monoglossum Emporium of Ptolemy.
↩The traveller Mandelslo, who was in Gujarát in 1633, or forty five years after it became subject to Dehlí, says, that the whole revenue of Gujarát amounted heretofore to eighteen millions of gold (Trav. 48) not counting the customs of Baroda and Bhroch, which were nearly eight hundred thousand crowns. The traveller Thevenot, who followed him and was there in A.D. 1655, says, “it paid the Moghul 25,500,000 French livres;” and these, calculated at tenpence half-penny would make £1,115,625 English money. (Travels in the Indies, Chap. xviii.) Thevenot's visit to India took place in the early part of Aurangzíb's reign, and the revenue, as stated by him, will be found to correspond very nearly with the amount of it given, in a former note, on native authority: for, assuming the medium value of a rupee at 2s. then 60,7849,135 dams = 15,196,228 rupees = £1,519,622.
↩ The copyist of the original manuscript has evidently misconceived
the name of the person here intended. In the Tazkarat-ul-Mulúk,
written by Rafí-ud-dín-Shírází, contemporary with
the characters above mentioned, Malik Arslán Imádu-l-Mulk,
Mentioned in Mandelslo's Travels, p. 16.
↩The port of Únah is situated inland, on a river, and E.S.E. of Diú Point. This and the six following ports belong to the coast of Kahtiwar.
↩This place, the Monoglossum Emporium of Ptolemy, though spelt Manglúr by the Mohammedan writers, is always called Mangrole by the natives. In Mandelslo's Travels it is spelt Mangerol, and is said to be famous for the great quantities of linen cloths made there.
↩These changízís are what the traveller Mandelslo calls (page 68) Ropaias chagam; which were of very good silver, and worth half a crown French money.
↩This place is called Sinnore in the maps. It is situated immediately on the Nerbuddah.
↩I have some doubt regarding the place here intended. In the original manuscript the name is written Goralbárah, and is probably the same as Korul on the Nerbuddah, in Arrowsmith's map.
↩The Oolpar of the maps. This change of the letter r and l is common in the names of places in India.
↩The name of this place, which is spelt with a French nasal in Sanúlee, is pronounced as here written.
↩The places assigned for this jágír belong to the province of Khándesh. Sidí Alí ben Husein, who, as admiral of the great Ottoman Emperor Suleimán I. was ordered to carry a fleet down the Persian Gulf, to cruize against the Portuguese in the seas of India, makes mention of this Nasiru-l-Mulk, in the Mirátu-l-Mamálik, or Mirror of Countries. Mr. von Hammer of Vienna has given some extracts from the book, in Vol. ii. of the Bombay Literary Transactions. Sidí Alí ben Husein was in Gujarát about the end of A.D. 1554, and notices the death of Nasiru-l-Mulk soon after. As this event happened in the reign of Ahmad Sháh II., who was the predecessor of Muzaffir III., the author of the Mirát Ahmadí errs in including his jágír here, while professing to give the political divisions of the country in the reign of the latter.
↩ Baglánah, the western and mountainous district of Khándesh,
is divided from Sangamnír by the Chandú range of Ghauts. Mulher
and Salher are two forts belonging to this part, which may
lay claim to some antiquity. It was governed in former times by
Hindú Rájás of its own, who, in A.D. 1370, were obliged to pay
tribute to Malik Rájá Farúkí, the founder of the Mohammedan
Kháns of Khándesh. The title of the Rájá who paid tribute was
Bohrjí; and we find two descendants similarly designated, in
A.D. 1529, during the reign of Bahádur Sháh of Gujarát. At a
subsequent period, one of the family was incorporated among the
nobles of Dehlí by Aurangzíb; and, regarding his ancestors, the Maásiru-l-Omará,
or Memoirs of the Nobles, has the following passage:
It is impossible to determine the proper name of the individual here noticed under the title of Kamilu-l-Mulk. There is no one mentioned, in the history of Muzaffir III, by this appellation; and, at that time, this part of the country appears to have been included in the jágír of Rustam Khán; who was, according to some accounts, the nephew of Malik Arslán Imádu-l-Mulk, or his slave, according to others.
↩In Gladwin's translation of the Ayín Akbarí, this place is written Dhamnúd. The name does not appear on the map, but the parganah meant must be near the sources of the Mahye River, as all the others lie between these and the Vindhya range of mountains, N.W. of the Nerbuddah River.
↩Tulput, or talpat, lands that pay a full rent into the public treasury of the paramount authority. The term is used in contradistinction to the usufructuary inheritance of the soil called wultun.
↩The Turkish Admiral, already quoted, notices Fat'h Khán; but designates him by the name of his tribe. In five days we came to the town of Patan, where we visited the tomb of the ancient Shaikh Nizámi. Here Shír Khán and Músa Khán were collecting troops, and preparing for war with Bolody (Bulúch) Khán of Rádhanpúr. (Bombay Literary Transact. vol. II., p. 9.)
↩The traveller Mandelslo says (p. 66), that the mahmúdís are made at Súrat, of a very base alloy, are worth about twelve pence sterling, and go only at Súrat, Baroda, Broitschia, Cambaiya, and those parts. There were twenty-six peyse in his time to a mahmúdí, and fifty-four to a rupee.
↩A term of Sanskrit origin, meaning a mouthful of grass, which is now figuratively used to express a feudal feof, or possession; the feoffee, or possessor, is named grassia.
↩This is the second among the ancestors of the present Rao of Kach. He obtained power A.D. 1549.
↩Though the word bandar usually means a port, it also bears the signification of a trading town or mart; and in this sense it must be here understood; as many of the bandars hereafter enumerated are in foreign countries; to which commercial agents were appointed from Gujarát, or between which and the latter a trading intercourse was kept up.
↩The author of the Mirát Ahmadí spells this name as here written; and the traveller Barthema calls it Cevul. He visited Bisnagar, the capital of Narsingha, now called Bíjnagar, or Amagúndy, and touched at this fort, in the end of the fifteenth century. This place, which is now abandoned, is on the coast of the Konkan, immediately south of Bombay, and is called Chaul in the maps.
↩Revadanda, in the Konkan, situated close by Chewal. It formerly belonged to the Portuguese, who built a fort and churches there.
↩This is Goa, which is called in Sanskrit Gova: and, as b and v are constantly permuted in that language, it is here corruptly spelt Goba.
↩In the travels of Ibn Batúta, (translated by Professor Lee) who arrived in India A.D. 1332, and took ship at Kambaiya to go southward, there is the port of Kula beyond Goha mentioned, and may be the same as this.
↩This is the town of Saiva in Persian Irák, between which and the coast of India there was formerly an extensive commercial intercourse.
↩This is the Souly, or Swaldy, near Súrat, which was formerly the port of that city. Thevenot in his Travels (p. 27) says, that in consequence of the Customs being after Slater, no ship was allowed to go there, since the year 1660. The revenue of the Súrat Customs are stated by Thevenot at twelve laks of rupees.
↩This is the Calliany of the Dekhan, and not the one near Bombay.
↩The power and wealth of this kingdom must have been at one time very great. Mandelslo, in his Travels, tells us “that there is a vast trade driven in many commodities all over the kingdom of Guzuratta: but particularly in cotton and linen cloths, which are in fairness and fineness equal to those of Holland; as also in several silk stuffs, as coutoons, which are of several colours, satins, taffatas, cummerbunds, ornis, of gold and silk, which women commonly make use of to cover their faces withal, brocades , tapestry, or alkatifs, chitringis, or streaked carpets to lay over chests and cabinets, quilted coverlets of silk or cotton, which they call geodries, (Guddree) or nalis, tents, periutos, or neuhar, which they make use of instead of couches, cadels or bedsteads, cabinets of lacque, chess-boards of tortoise-shell, seals, beads, chains, buttons, and rings of ivory, amber, rock-crystal, and agate.” (Travels of Mandelslo, translated into English by John Davies, p 66.)
↩In Gladwin's translation of the Ayín Akbarí, the measurement is put down at 8,024,153 bígahs.
↩