At this time the Emperor took away Jounpúr from the Khán
Khánán and gave him the government of Multán and Bakkar, and
appointed him to subdue the kingdoms of Sind and Balúchistán,
and to settle the hash of Mírzá Jání. And in the month Rabí'us-
In this year came from Málwah the news of the death of Shihábud dín Khán, and “I am Shiháb Khán”* was found to give the date; and another was “Base of disposition.”*
At this time the Emperor ordered them to rewrite in any easy style the history of Kashmír, which Mullá Sháh Muḥammad of Sháhábád, who was a learned man, and a collector of all learning from both traditional and logical sources, had translated according to orders into Persian. I made a compendium in the course of two months, and wrote this verse at the end of it:—
“In the course of one or two months,
In accordance with the Sháh's command,
This book was written in black,
Like the down on the cheeks of the fair.”
presented it, and it was put into the Imperial library, and it is read as a sample.
In this year Shaikh Ibráhim Chishtí died a natural death at
Fatḥpúr, and having bid adieu to a world of wealth, went to
give an account of it to his Creator. Of all this a sum of twenty-
In this year many of the chief men of Láhór died. Of this number were Khanjarí Turk, who died of emerods; and Shaikh Aḥmad the younger brother of Shaikh 'Abd-ur-raḥím by a fatal accident with an elephant; and Mullá 'Urfí of Shíráz, the celebrated poet, of an ordinary* bodily ailment. And at the moment of departing he uttered the Rubá'í:—
“Urfí! it is the last breath, and still thou art intoxicated,
After all of what value are the goods thou hast packed?
To-morrow the Friend with the ready-money of Paradise in his hand
Will ask for your wares, and thou wilt have an empty hand.”
And since he had said a great many impolite words against the doctors, both ancient and modern, they found out this mnemosynon for his death:—
Said “Urfí: O Death thou art but a young hand:”*
And another “Enemy of God.”*
At this time Ḥakím Hamám praised the book Mu'jam-ul-buldán,* which is comprised in some two hundred sheets, and represented to the Emperor that it should be translated from the Arabic into Persian, since it contained a host of strange stories and wonderful sources of profit. Accordingly he assembled ten or twelve men of learning, both Persian and Indian, and apportioned the book among them, and the amount of ten sheets fell to my portion. I translated it in the course of one month, and presenting it before any of the others, made it an excuse for asking leave to go to Badáún, and it was accepted.
On the twenty-fourth of the month Jamáda'l-awwal of the year nine hundred and ninety-nine the Assembly of the New Year was arranged as in former years. This was the beginning of the twenty-sixth year from the Accession. And among the different edicts, which were fixed in this year, is the forbidding of (P. 376) flesh of cows and buffaloes and sheep and horses and camels. Another was that, if a Hindú woman wished to be burnt with her husband, they should not prevent her; but she should not be forced against her will. And that they should not circumcise a boy before twelve years of age, and then he could choose for himself, whether it should be done or no.
And another was that if any one should eat with a butcher they should cut off his hand, but if he belonged to the butcher's relatives, they should cut off only his little finger.
In this year Ḥají Mirzá Bég Kábulí, who had gone to 'Alí Ráí, ruler of Little Tibet, brought his daughter and married her to the eldest prince.
And* a treatise was written concerning the manners and customs, and religious sects of those people from the account of Mírzá Beg, and Mullá Ṭálib Içfahání, who had gone there a second time as ambassador. Those who wish for a full account had better refer to the book. If not he can read the Akbarnámah, in which is a description of the cities of Hindústán and Kabúl, and Tibet and Kashmír.
Towards the end of Shabán* of this year the Emperor allowed Mírzá Nizám-ud-dín Aḥmad to go to the parganna of Shamsábád, which had been given him as his jágir. And the son of his maternal aunt, Muḥammad Ja'far by name, a very able young man indeed, and a regular Baḥádur in fighting and friendship fell in action at that place, and the following mnemosynon was found for the date:—
“When Ja'far attained the diploma of martyrdom from the Court of the Judge,
The date of his year was: Ja'far is become a pure martyr.”
The Emperor gave Mirzá Nizám-ud-dín Aḥmad five months' leave of absence. And when the aforesaid Mirzá represented that my mother was dead, and asked leave for me to go and comfort my brothers and sisters, the Emperor reluctantly gave me permission. And when the Çadr Jahán repeatedly told me to do sijdah, and I did not do so, he said ‘Get along then.’ So the Emperor was vexed with me and gave me nothing. At any rate I went with the Mirzá to Shamsábád, and there (P. 377) I fell ill, and going to Badáún and visiting my relatives they occupied themselves in preparing plasters and cures. The Mirzá hastened to Láhór. And on account of the book Khirad-afzá, which had disappeared from the Library, and concerning Salímah Sulṭán Begum's study of which the Emperor reminded me, (and though many messengers consisting of my friends started for Badáún, on account of certain hindrances they never arrived,) an order was issued that my madad-ma'ásh should be stopped, and that they should demand the book of me nolens volens. And the aforesaid Mirzá (may he be steeped in God's mercy,) did me many acts of kindness in secret. But Shaikh Abu-l-Fazl did not lay my repeated representations before the Emperor, so that no refutation at all should reach his ears.
In Shawwal* of this year four persons of the confidential servants of the Court were sent on an embassy to the four rulers of the Dak'hin. Shaikh Faizí was sent to Rájah 'Alí Khán ruler of Asír and Burhánpúr. And Amín-ud-dín, who was formerly called Muḥammad Amín, and at his own special request got the name of Amín-ud-dín, was sent to Burhán-ul-mulk, who had left the Court, and with the help of friendly Amírs had raised himself to the Sultanate and assumed absolute power in Aḥmad-Nagar, which was the place of his ancestors. And one, Mír Muḥammad Amín by name, who was a former servant of Çádiq Khán, was sent to 'Ádil Khán ruler of Bíjápúr. And Mír Munír was sent to Quṭb-ul-mulk the ruler of golkandah. The order was that Shaikh Faizí should deliver his letter to Rájah 'Alí Khán, and then go on to Burhán-ul-mulk. And there the friendship between the Shaikh and Imin-ud-dín came to an end, and ended in a quarrel.
In this year the Emperor's constitution became a little deranged and he suffered from stomach-ache and cholic, which could by no means be removed. In this unconscious state he uttered some words which arose from suspicions of his eldest son,* and accused him of giving him poison, and said:
“Bábá Shaikhú* (P. 378) Jí since all this
Sultanate will devolve on thee, why
Hast thou made this attack on me:—
To take away my life there was no need of injustice,
I would have given it to thee, if thou hadst asked me.”
And he also accused Ḥakím Hamán, in whom he had the most perfect confidence, of giving him something. The eldest Prince appointed some of his own confidants to watch the movements of the Prince Murád. In a short space of time the Emperor's sickness was changed into health, and the people of the harem and the Sháhzádah Murád told this incident to the Emperor.
On this account on the twelfth of Zí-ḥajjah*
of this year the Emperor
gave the government of Málwah to the Prince Sulṭán Murád,
who was entitled Pahárí.*
On appointing him to this government he
granted him a pennon, kettle-drum, martial music, and a royal
standard,*
and all the paraphernalia of royalty, and he conferred on him
a royal sleeveless dress of honour, which is an honour conferred only on
princes. And he appointed Ismá'íl Qulí Khán as his wakíl, and other
great Amírs he appointed as his attendants, and sent them with him, in
order to set the distance between East and West between the two
brothers, and that they might remain safe from the vain troubles of
Empire. With the hope of further victories numbers of persons from
every side gathered round the Prince, whom on the plea of the “golden
mean”*
they thought superior to the other princes in majesty and
pomp. Having gathered together an immense army from the environs
of Ágrah, Qunnauj, and Guályár, he fought in the neighbourhood
of Narwar several engagements with Madhukar*
the zamíndár of
Úṇḍchah,*
who was distinguished above all the Rájahs of Hind for
his retinue and army, and had raised a rebellion in those parts; and
defeated him. He fled and betook himself to the mountains and
jungles, where he infested the roads, and killed many people, and
took heavy black-mail from the caravans. The army of the Prince
(P. 379) were put to the greatest straits by his robberies, and deserted
him in every direction. But at that time Madhukar died a natural
death, and went to Hell. His son came with fitting offerings, and
had an interview with the Prince, who sent him with Yár Muḥam-
The Prince took up his abode at Ujjain, and numbers of the men, who were appointed as his retinue, on account of his bad conduct in all relations of life, and court and ceremonial, and in his over-weaning pride and arrogance, in which he imitated his illustrious Father, and which he carried beyond all conception, boasting of being a ripe grape when he was not yet even an unripe grape, with leave or without leave they left him; and it became known that all that transient pomp and circumstance was caused by his ignorance rather than his knowledge.
At this time Doulat Khán, son of Amín Khán Ghorí, governor of Jounágaṛh, who had been wounded in battle with the Jám, died. A'zam Khán had gone to try and reduce that fortress, and the Amírs of Amín Khán under the leadership of the son of Doulat Khán for some days held out against him, but at last they asked for quarter and gave up the keys of the fortress on the fifth of Zí-qádah* in the aforesaid year.