IT has already been briefly related how the Khán, on the 14th of
Safar, in the year 917,*
separated from the Emperor, and went to
Andiján; also how he defeated [Mirzá Abá Bakr] and the Kásh-
At the time when Sultán Khalil Sultán came [to Andiján], Jáni Beg Sultán ordered my uncle, Sayyid Muhammad Mirzá, Sultán Ali Mirzá Begjik, and Tubra Nuyághut,* to kill Sultán Khalil Sultán, in order that he might be assured that they were cut off from the Moghuls, otherwise [he feared that], on the first opportunity, they would stir up a rebellion and attach themselves to the Moghul Khákáns. These three, fearing for their own lives, drowned Sultán Khalil Sultán in the river of Akhsi. The Sultán was younger brother to the Khán.*
So long as the Uzbeg had the upper hand and were successful, these three men lived in peace; but when the Uzbeg were overthrown, they grew apprehensive lest the Khán should take vengeance upon them for that crime [and this thought was never out of their minds]. One day the Khán, in a state of intoxication, killed Tubra. It came about in this wise. Tubra was a rude, unpolished man, who had never been in personal attendance on the Khákáns, but had always lived in the deserts of Moghulistán and Uzbegistán, engaged in forays [kazáki] and skirmishes [karávuli].* He was ignorant of the manners of an Amir. He now looked upon himself as one of the pillars of the State, and thought that for him to speak gently or courteously to a prince was but flattery, while flattery was the vilest of qualities; that coarse speech was a sign of power, and that a rough manner and the non-observance of the rules of politeness due to a king, should be regarded as a mark of dignity in himself. The people thought he was insane, and that pride had thickened the fibres of his brain. In spite of fear and apprehension, he had certainly made roughness of speech and rude manners his second nature. One day, at a feast given by the Khán, the wine was passing freely, and Tubra's head became hot with intoxication; reason left his brain, and in its place came pride and wickedness. All those thoughts which, when sober, he kept to himself, he now let free with full force, and began to talk wildly. It was in vain that the Khán expostulated and pointed out to him that his railleries were out of place: that he should not let loose the reins of coarse speech and vulgarity. Tubra retorted in a speech reflecting on the Khan's family.* At this answer, the Khán quite lost control over his temper, and the harvest of his patience was consumed; he then and there gave orders for Tubra's head to be struck off and hung over the gate, as an example to all not to forget the respect due to authority.
When Sultán Ali Mirzá, who was one of the three, heard of this event, he fled to the Emperor in Samarkand, and joined his brothers, Mir Ayub, Mir Muhammad, and Mir Ibráhim. My uncle, Sayyid Muhammad Mirzá, who was their leader, was plunged into the greatest alarm. This event had occurred at Akhsi, while my uncle was in Andiján. The Khán immediately sent off Mir Kambar, in great haste, from Akhsi [to explain the matter to my uncle], saying: “Tubra was an ass; but no ass would endure him, even to buckle on his nose-bag.* Moreover, he had entirely given himself up to the paths of rudeness.” Mir Kambar succeeded in quieting the Khán with this message. Soon after this, the Khán himself came to Andiján. Here he treated my uncle with such friendliness and affection, as to blot out all fears from the latter's mind, and such a firm friendship was established between them, that it lasted all their lives. In later times the Khán never mentioned my uncle's name without shedding tears of affection.
| [Verse] | Behold the kindness and mercy of the Lord; |
| The servant has sinned, and the master is ashamed.1 |