Kamálu-d dín,* brother of Ráo Dúl Chand, and his son, when they saw Tímúr's severity towards the guilty, being filled with terror, lost their judgment. On the 1st Rabi'u-l awwal, although Dúl Chand was in Tímúr's camp, they closed the gates of the city, and opened the gates of sorrow and trouble for them­selves. The wrath of Tímúr was kindled; he ordered his sol­diers to again invest the place, and to carry on their mining and scaling operations. The men set zealously about the work, and the besieged soon perceived that there was no hope for them, and that it was useless to struggle against their fate. The brother and son of the Ráo went forth humbly from the town, and hastened to cast themselves upon the earth before Tímúr, and implore his mercy. They gave up the keys of the town to the servants of the emperor. On the 2nd of the month Amír Shaikh Núru-d dín and Amír Allah-dád went into the city to receive the ransom money, but the evil-minded ráís resisted payment of the tribute. There were in the city many gabrs and bad men who set themselves in opposition and made open resist­ance. When Tímúr heard of this he issued a stringent order for his men to attack the fort, and put the occupants to the sword. The soldiers accordingly scaled the place by means of ladders and ropes. The gabrs set fire to the place, and cast their wives and children into the fire and consumed them. A party of them who called themselves Musulmáns, cut off the heads of their wives and children like so many sheep. The two parties then joined and prepared for a desperate resistance. They were very numerous, and very resolute and savage. According to com­mand the soldiers entered the city, and shouting their war cry fell upon the defenders. A desperate conflict ensued, and many of the assailants were slain and many wounded. Amír Shaikh Núru-d dín had entered the city on foot, sword in hand, to fight with the infidels. He was surrounded by a number of infidels, and was in imminent danger, when Auzán Mazíd Baghdádí and Fíroz Sístání rushed to the rescue, and despatching several of the infidels they rescued him from his peril. Victory at length favoured our arms. Ten thousand of the infidels were slain, the houses were set on fire, and the whole place was destroyed. Nothing was left but a few heaps of ashes. The gold and silver, and horses and spoil of every sort that fell into the hands of the captors was by order of Tímúr divided among the soldiers. He solaced the wounded by his royal munificence, and he showed great favour and liberality to Auzán Mazíd and Fíroz, who had rescued Amír Núru-d dín at the risk of their own lives.

After the destruction of the town of Bhatnír the air was polluted by the putrefying bodies of the slain, so on the 4th of the month Tímúr ordered his army to march against other places of India. Having advanced fourteen kos, it reached a place called Kinára-i-hauz (brink of the reservoir), and there encamped. On the 5th it again marched and came to the fort of Fírozah, from whence it proceeded on the same day to the town of Sarsutí. The inhabitants of this town were for the most part infidels and kept pigs, whose flesh they ate. On hearing of the approach of Tímúr they took to flight. A detachment was sent in pursuit, which overtook them and put many of them to the sword, and plundered the property which they had carried off. The detach­ment returned safe to camp with its plunder, all except 'Ádil Farrásh who was killed in the fight. Tímúr rested one day at Sarsutí and on the following day marched eighteen kos to Fath-ábád where he encamped. The inhabitants of this place had also abandoned their homes and fled towards the desert. They were pursued by a party of our men who overtook them, killed many of them, and plundered their goods. On the 7th of the month Tímúr marched by the fort of Rajab-núr and came to the fort of Ahrúní where he pitched his camp. This place did not contain any men of sufficient sense and intelligence to come out and secure protection by making their submission, so, some of the inhabitants were killed and others were made prisoners. The soldiers set fire to the fort, plundered the houses, and carried off the grain. Not a house was left standing.

On the following day the army marched into the desert to a village called Tohána. A body of the people called Jats had made themselves masters of this neighbourhood and for a long time had committed depredations on the roads. They had cast aside all the restraints of religion, plundering the caravans and merchants with violence and murder. When they heard of the advance of Tímúr's victorious host to Hindustán, they fled into the deserts and into jungles filled with sugar-canes (nai-shakar). Orders were issued for pursuing them, and Amír Tokal Hindú Karkarra,* and Mauláná Násiru-d dín were sent in command of the detachment. They penetrated the jungles and killed 200 of them, and having taken many prisoners they returned with the cattle and other spoil to the royal camp.

March against the Jat robbers.

One of Tímúr's chief objects was to break up the bands of robbers and to make the roads secure. On the 9th of the month he left Tohána, and he sent on Amír Sulaímán Sháh with the baggage and with the plunder that had been collected towards Sámána. On the same day he himself passed the fort of Múng towards Sámána and encamped. From this place he made a rapid march against the retreats of the Jats in the deserts and jungles, and falling upon these wild demon-like men he put 2,000 of them to the sword, their wives and children he took captive, and their cattle and effects he plundered. He thus delivered the country from the fear of these robbers which had so long oppressed it.

In that neighbourhood there was a party of distinguished saiyids who had taken up their abode in a certain village and sustained the honour of their religion. They came full of hope and confidence to wait on Tímúr who received them kindly and bestowing on them his princely bounty, he gave them a governor to protect them from the violence of soldiers.

On the 10th Rabí'u-l awwal Amír Sulaimán marched with the baggage from the vicinity of Múng to the neighbourhood of Sámána. He halted for the night and on the 11th reached the river Khagar. Tímúr who had made a forced march against the Jats rejoined the army on the banks of the Khagar which is near Sámána. He rested there four days awaiting the arrival of the heavy baggage. On the 15th he marched from thence and halted at the bridge (fúl) of Kúbíla.* Here he was joined by the princes and nobles of the left wing of his army whom he had sent by another route through the valley (murgh-zár) of Kábul by the ordinary road to India. Whenever in their march they came to a hostile town or fort they subdued and plundered it. They now rejoined the imperial standard. On the 16th Tímúr marched, and crossed the bridge of Kúbila. The heavy baggage and the remainder of the army coming up from Díbálpúr under Sháh Malík, here joined the main army. On the 17th Tímúr halted, but on the 18th he marched from the bridge of Kúbila, and having marched five kos, arrived at the bridge of Yakrán* where he rested. On the 19th he marched to the town of Kaital. The distance between Kaital and Sámána is seventeen kos, i.e., five legal farsakhs and two miles.*