[Text, vol. ii. p. 737.] An order was made that the reign of Jahándár Sháh should be considered as an adverse possession, and that the reign of Muhammad Farrukh Siyar should date from the 1st Rabí'u-l awwal, 1123 A.H. (April 8, 1711 A.D.).
After Nizámu-l Mulk Bahádur Fath Jang arrived in the Dakhin, the might of his hereditary sword and his own sound judgment brought about, as they had done before, a great abatement of the ravages perpetrated by the Mahrattas upon the country and upon caravans, without his having to resort to war with the vile foe. But wherever Nusrat Jang and Dáúd Khán went, the Mahrattas made their incursions, and levied the chauth.
[vol. ii. p. 737.] After the death of Aurangzeb, Rája Ajít Singh of Jodhpúr showed his unworthy character by rebuilding the temples and destroying the mosques in his territory. When Bahádur Sháh had fought against and overcome Muhammad A'zam Sháh, he formed the design of chastising the Rája, and of ravaging his country and the territories of other impious Rájpúts. But events would not allow him to prosecute his intention, and he had to march to the Dakhin against his younger brother Muhammad Kám Bakhsh. In the reign of Bahádur Sháh also Ajít Singh and other vicious Rájpúts were guilty of many improper acts. Bahádur Sháh, on returning from the Dakhin, again resolved to lead an army to chastise this perverse tribe. The revolt of the Sikhs and the troubles they caused obliged him to abandon the enterprise, and to march against the Sikh revolters. Upon the accession of Muhammad Farrukh Siyar, the Rájpúts did not show proper allegiance, and therefore Amíru-l umará Husain 'Alí Khán and the Emperor's maternal uncle, Sháyista Khán, were sent against them, with other amírs and a suitable army.
Rája Ajít Singh, upon learning of the march of this army, was alarmed at its strength and at the prowess of the Saiyids. He sent his property and family into the hills and strong places, and, having cleared his country, he sent envoys to Amíru-l umará with presents, suing for peace and forgiveness of his offences. Just at this time several letters arrived from Saiyid 'Abdu-llah Khán, informing his brother of the intrigues and malice of their rivals at Court, and urging him to return. Amíru-l umará Husain 'Alí consequently concluded a peace with Ajít Singh, the Rája agreeing to pay tribute, to send his daughter for Farrukh Siyar, and his son to pay homage. Having made this settlement, Amíru-l umará left Sháyista Khán, the King's uncle, to bring the girl, while he went on to Court.
'Abdu-llah Khán and Husain 'Alí Khán desired that no mansabs or promotions or appointments to office should be made without consulting them. The Emperor had given Mír Jumla authority to sign his name, and repeatedly said, “The word of Mír Jumla and the signature of Mír Jumla are my word and my signature.” Kutbu-l Mulk Saiyid 'Abdu-llah had given to his díwán, a grain-dealer named Ratan Chand, the title of Rája, and a mansab of two thousand, and he had reposed in him authority in all government and ministerial matters. This man attended to nobody's business without some underhand arrangement for the benefit of Saiyid 'Abdu-llah Khán and himself. When an aspirant resorted to Mír Jumla for a mansab, for promotion, or for an appointment to office, he, acting uprightly as the deputy of the Emperor, wrote his signature and satisfied the applicant. This practice was contrary to all the rules of the wazír's office; it weakened the authority of the Saiyids, and was the cause of great annoyance to the two brothers. Mír Jumla also often exhibited his own devotion to the Emperor by complaining of and blaming the Saiyids, and he persuaded him by various proofs that such high offices and ministerial authority were above the abilities of the Saiyids of Bárha. By various unworthy artifices he brought forward evidence of their disloyalty, and by malicious statements made in private, he succeeded in turning the heart of Farrukh Siyar against the two brothers. He repeatedly urged the Emperor to make Husain 'Alí and 'Abdu-llah Khán prisoners. They went out on a hunting excursion to the garden of Muhsin Khán, and by various representations, he tried to stir the Emperor up to take the bold step (of seizing them), but he did not succeed. Report says that Farrukh Siyar's mother, remembering the promise and agreement he had made with the two brothers, gave information of this secret intrigue to Saiyid 'Abdu-llah Khán.
Another work which the common talk of all classes attributed to the influence of Mír Jumla, and in which it is probable the Saiyids of Bárha had no part, was the blinding of the Princes. A'azzu-d dín, son of Jahándár Sháh, after the flight of his father from the field of battle, hid himself in Ágra, but he was discovered and taken. Muhammad Humáyún Bakht, younger brother of Farrukh Siyar, was only ten or eleven years old. Wálá-tabár was son of Muhammad A'zam Sháh. All these were deprived of sight. In retribution of this (cruelty), Farrukh Siyar's son, a child of two years old, was suddenly taken from him by death.
At this time Amíru-l umará Husain 'Alí preferred a claim to the Súbadárí of the Dakhin, with the intention of adopting Zú-l fikár Khán's practice of discharging the duties of the office by deputy. His plan was to appoint Dáúd Khán as his deputy, to agree with him on a total sum to be paid annually, while he himself would remain at Court. But the Emperor, in consultation with Mír Jumla, desired that Husain 'Alí should go in person to the Dakhin. It was necessary to accept or reject the conditions, and Amíru-l umará Husain 'Alí, after considering the course pursued by the King and Mír Jumla, refused to go to the Dakhin and leave his brother (alone at Court). A strong altercation arose, and matters went so far that both brothers refrained from going to Court and waiting upon the Emperor; they even meditated the levying of soldiers and throwing up lines of defence round their residence.
The Emperor called together for private consultation his
well-affected nobles, who had taken part in his councils with
Mír Jumla, Khán-daurán and Muhammad Amín Khán, and
every day he brought forward a new proposition. Reports of
these dissensions and of the dearness of grain caused uneasiness
and disturbances in the cities far and near. After a
great deal of correspondence, and the mediation of the mother
of the Emperor, who went to see Kutbu-l Mulk Saiyid 'Abdu-llah
at his house, and satisfied him, it was agreed that the Saiyids
should make their own arrangements in the fort, and that both
brothers should then attend the darbár. Accordingly the men
of Saiyid 'Abdu-llah and of Husain 'Alí were posted in various
places under their direction; the brothers then went to wait upon
the Emperor, to ask pardon for their offences. They complained
of the Emperor's change of feeling, and, taking off their swords,
they laid them before him, and said, “If, through the words of
detractors, suspicion of us has found its way into your gracious
mind, order that we should be put to death upon the spot, or
deprive us of our mansabs and send us to the holy temple. But
to let the suggestions of calumniators and the words of mischief-