May the Almighty remove such a visitation from every good Moslem; and God grant that such a thing as an ill-tempered, cross-grained wife, be not left in the world!
Jūli Be-Another of his wives was Jūli Begum, the daughter of one of the chiefs of the Azāks, by whom he had Sultānim Begum.
Shaher- Another was Shaher-bānu Begum, the daughter of Sultan
Abūsaīd Mirza, whom he married after he ascended the
throne. At the battle of Chikmān, when all the Mirza’s
ladies descended from their litters and mounted on horseback,
this princess, relying on her younger brother,*
did not
leave her litter nor take to horse. This was reported to the
Mirza, who thereupon divorced her, and married her
youngest sister, Payandeh Sultan Begum. After the Uzbeks
Payandeh
Sultan Be-
gum.
took Khorasān, Payandeh Sultan Begum went to Irāk, where
she died in distress.
Another was Khadījeh Begum, who had been a concubine of Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza, and borne him one daughter, who was named Ak Begum (or the Fair Lady). After the defeat of Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza in Irāk, this lady came to Heri, where Sultan Hussain Mirza took her, and being passionately fond of her, raised her from the rank of concubine to that of Begum. She finally managed him entirely according to her will and pleasure. It was by her intrigues that Muhammed Mūmin Mirza* was put to death. She was the chief cause of the rebellions of Sultan Hussain Mirza’s sons. She regarded herself as a personage of profound sense, but was in truth a foolish, talkative woman. She was, besides, heretical in her religious opinions. She had two sons, Shah Gharīb Mirza and Muzaffer Hussain Mirza.
ApākAnother of his wives was Apāk Begum, by whom he had neither son nor daughter. Pāpa Aghācheh, who was so much attached to her,* was her foster sister; having no children herself, she brought up the sons of Pāpa Aghācheh as her own. She attended the Mirza with very tender care during his illnesses; indeed, no lady of his family equalled her in dutiful attentions. The year that I came to Hindustān* she arrived from Heri. I showed her all the respect and kindness in my power. While I was besieging Chanderi,* I learned that, at Kābul, she had departed to the mercy of God.
His concu-Of Sultan Hussain Mirza’s concubines, one was Latīf Sultan,* by whom he had Abul Hassan Mirza, and Kīpek Mirza.
Mangeli-bīAnother of them was Mangeli-bī Aghācheh, who was an Uzbek, and one of Shaher-bānu Begum’s people. She was the mother of Abu Tarāb Mirza, of Muhammed Hussain Mirza, and of Ferīdūn Mirza. She had also two daughters.
Pāpa Aghā-Another of them was Pāpa Aghācheh, the foster-sister of Apāk Begum. The Mirza having seen and liked her, took her; and she was the mother of five sons and four daughters, as has been mentioned.*
Begi SultanAnother was Begi Sultan Aghācheh, by whom he had neither son nor daughter.
He had many other concubines and women*: those whom I have mentioned were the most eminent of his wives and concubines. There was no prince of his time who could be compared to Sultan Hussain Mirza in power, nor any city of Islām like Heri; yet it is remarkable, that of his fourteen sons,* only three were legitimate. The consequences of vice and debauchery manifested their baleful influence on himself, his sons, his tribes, and hordes (Īls and Ulūses). It was one of the judgements which they drew down, that of so large a family, in seven or eight years, not a trace or vestige remained, except only Muhammed Zemān Mirza.*
His Amirs.With regard to his Amirs, one of them was Muhammed Berendūk Birlās, who was descended of Jākū Birlās; his genealogy runs thus: Muhammed Berendūk,* the son of Jehān-shah, the son of Jākū Birlās. He was first a Beg in the service of Bābur Mirza, and was afterwards in high favour with Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza,* who gave Kābul to him and Jehāngīr Birlās, and appointed him governor to his son Ulugh Beg Mirza.* After the death of Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza, Ulugh Beg Mirza formed designs to rid himself of the two Birlās; but they, having discovered his plans, placed him under custody, moved away with their Īls and Ulūses, and marched for Kunduz. On reaching the top of Hindū-kūsh, they sent back the Mirza in the handsomest manner to Kābul; while they themselves proceeded on to Khorasān to Sultan Hussain Mirza, who gave them the most favourable reception. Muhammed Berendūk Beg was a very prudent and wise man, and incomparably the first in distinction at the court of Heri.* He was extremely fond of his hawks, insomuch, that if he at any time learned that one of his hawks was dead or lost, he used to take the name of one of his sons, and say, ‘Had such a son died, or such an one broken his neck, I would have thought nothing of it in comparison with the death or loss of such a hawk.’
MuzafferAnother of his Amirs was Muzaffer Birlās, who attended him in all his wars. I know not in what manner he contrived to ingratiate himself so much with the Mirza, but that prince loaded him with favours. Such was the Mirza’s familiarity with him, that in his first campaigns they entered into an agreement, that whatsoever country should be conquered, four parts should belong to the Mirza and two to him. A strange agreement! How could it possibly answer for a monarch to adopt a servant as the partner of his sovereignty? Such an agreement could never have answered even with his own brother or son. How could it succeed with one of his Amirs or Captains? After he had mounted the throne he became ashamed of this compact, but to no purpose. This wrong-headed man, singularly distinguished as he had been by the Mirza’s favour, only presumed the more on it, and behaved factiously. The Mirza, not being able to retain him within the limits of his duty, is said finally to have poisoned him. The omniscient God knows with truth what befell him.
Ali SherAnother of them was Ali Sher Beg Nawāi, who was not so much his Amīr as his friend. In their youth they had been schoolfellows, and were extremely intimate. I know not for what offence he was driven from Heri by Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza; but he went to Samarkand, where he remained for several years, and was protected and patronized by Ahmed Hāji Beg. Ali Sher Beg was celebrated for the elegance of his manners; and this elegance and polish were ascribed to the conscious pride of high fortune: but this was not the case; they were natural to him, and he had precisely the same refined manner when he was in Samarkand. Indeed, Ali Sher Beg was an incomparable person. From the time that poetry was first written in the Tūrki language, no man has written so much and so well. He composed six masnevis in verse, five in imitation of the Khamsah* (of Nizāmi), and one in imitation of the Mantik-ut-teir* (the Speech of the Birds). This last he called Lissān-ut-teir (the Tongue of the Birds). He also composed four diwāns of ghazels (or odes), entitled, The Singularities of Infancy, The Wonders of Youth, The Marvels of Manhood, and The Benefits of Age.** He likewise composed several other works, which are of a lower class and inferior in merit to these. Of that number is an imitation of the Epistles of Moulāna Abdal Rahmān Jāmi, which he partly wrote and partly collected. The object of it is to enable every person to find in it a letter suited to any business on which he may desire to write.* He also wrote the Mizān-al-auzān (the Measure of Measures) on Prosody, in which he is very incorrect; for, in describing the measures of twenty-four rubāis (quatrains), he has erred in the measures of four; he has also made some mistakes regarding other poetical measures, as will be evident to any one who has attended to the structure of Persian verse. He besides completed a diwān* in Persian, and in his Persian compositions he assumed the poetical name of Fāni.* Some of his Persian verses are not bad, but the greater part of them are heavy* and poor. He has also left excellent pieces of music; they are excellent both as to the airs themselves and as to the preludes. There is not upon record in history any man who was a greater patron and protector of men of ingenuity and talent than Ali Sher Beg. Ustād* Kuli Muhammed, the celebrated Sheikhi,* and Hussain Ūdī,* who were so distinguished for their skill in instrumental music, attained their high eminence and celebrity by the instructions and encouragement of Ali Sher Beg. Ustād Behzād and Shah Muzaffer owed the extent of their reputation and fame in painting to his exertions and patronage; and so many were the excellent works which owed their origin to him, that few persons ever effected anything like it. He had no son, nor daughter, nor wife, nor family: he passed through the world single and unencumbered. At first he was keeper of the signet; in the middle part of his life he was invested with the dignity of Beg, and held the government of Asterābād for some time. He afterwards renounced the profession of arms, and would accept of nothing from the Mirza; on the contrary, he annually presented him with a large sum of money as an offering. When Sultan Hussain Mirza returned from the Asterābād campaign, the Beg came out of the city to meet him; between the moment of the Mirza’s saluting him and his rising, he was affected with a sudden stroke, which prevented his getting up, and he was obliged to be carried off. The physicians were unable to render him any assistance,* and next morning he departed to the mercy of God.* One of his own couplets was highly applicable to his situation:
(Tūrki)— I perish of a mortal disease, though I know not what it is;
In this disease, what remedy can physicians administer?*