Oh, Zephyr, proclaim the great victory to all the world. ^{* * *} Thou wert thyself present and saw all, why need I tell thee what occurred? Say how the Lord of the World, the Sword of the State and Religion, the sovereign of the great and small, in order to secure victory to Islám, brought a valiant army from the capital to the land of Hind, which he reduced to forty thousand horsemen, in order that it might not be too large and unwieldy. ^{* * *} He disregarded all other forts, and passed rapidly over the ground, sometimes encamp­ing in forests, sometimes on broken ground. When his lofty standards passed the river, the mirror-like vault of heaven was obscured by clouds of dust. The fort of Ágra is built amongst the sand, like a hill, and the battlements of it are like hillocks. No calamity had ever befallen its fortifications, nor had deceitful Time dealt treacherously with it. When it was surrounded by the army, it looked like a point in the centre of a circle. The battle waxed warm with arrows and swords. The following night the chiefs of Jaipál had a dream. ^{* * *} When the moon arose, the Amír of Ágra, Jaipál,* descended from the top of the rampart to the gate of the fort. He looked towards the tent of Saifu-d daula, and made his reverence, and seizing from his waist his holy thread, held it up with both his hands. He sent a message to the King, saying, “Oh, great sovereign, I have committed a fault, and I am ready to acknowledge it. I proclaim my allegiance. Thou art my lord. I will relinquish my sins; do thou pardon my transgressions. If thou wilt grant me forgiveness, I will fill up a heap of treasure in this fortress.” The King of Kings, the Sword of State and Religion, replied, “I have come to this country to prosecute a religious war. I have seen countless forts, but this holy army has taken every one of them a hundred times over. I was in search of such a large virgin fortress as this, which no king or chief has yet taken. Now that my heart has found this fort of Ágra, I will bring destruction upon it with my swords and arrows. Other kings have thought only of silver and gold. I look for nothing but pardon from the Giver of all things.” He then ordered his soldiers to the attack, saying he would take the strong­hold by the help of God. His soldiers surrounded the fort of Ágra, and made the day appear like night. Without, were the army of Islám; within, were the infidels. The stones discharged from the mangonels ascended to the vault of heaven, like the prayers of saints. I saw the foot-soldiers with helmet, coat of mail, and sword, creeping up like snakes to defend their walls, which could not be destroyed by stones, arrows or fire, insomuch that you would have said they had been riveted together by iron nails. A thousand assaults were made, but their hearts did not quake; a thousand wounds were inflicted, but their bodies were not maimed. The fires which they threw down from the battlements blazed like planets in the heavens. Every horseman who rode surrounded by the flames of fire escaped from the effects of it, like Ibráhím, the son of Ázur; and the red element blazed round him like a garden. ^{* * *} Several days elapsed, and there was no respite from fighting by the light of day or the darkness of night. ^{* * *} The clarions of Mahmúd resounded like thunder from the clouds. From behind the walls arose the cry of “Strike, strike.”* The troops of the King made an assault together, and dragon-like swords defended the ramparts. The faulchions of the holy warriors made the ground of Ágra flow like a river with the blood of the enemy. ^{* * *} I saw the King plunging into the middle of the fight like a male lion, with a man-devouring scimetar in his hand. ^{* * *} At last, from the holy warriors within the fort arose the shout of “Victory to our Sovereign Lord Mahmúd.” ^{* * *} Now do the kings from all quarters send their presents unto thee—loads of red gold, and files of male elephants. As so many elephants are collected, make their stables at Kanauj, and appoint Chand Ráí to take charge of them. May this victory be propitious to thee, and mayst thou capture by the sword a thousand such forts as these. Thou shalt be lord throughout the seven climates, as this conquest over the infidels testifies.

Thou didst depart with a thousand joyful anticipations on a holy expedition, and didst return having achieved a thousand victories. Thou didst encamp at pleasant spots in each province in the hottest season of the year. On this journey thy army destroyed a thousand idol-temples, and thy elephants trampled over more than a hundred strongholds. Thou didst march thy army to Ujjain; Málwá trembled and fled from thee. Thy encampments were gardens, thy roads were groves. On the way to Kálinjár thy pomp obscured the light of day. The lip of infidelity became dry through fear of thee, the eye of plural-worship became blind. All the people felt alarm at thy army, and regarded it as the approach of the day of judg­ment. ^{* * *} All the mothers of Turkistán produce children to adorn thy Court. All the mines of Hindustán increase their pro­duction of iron to make weapons for thy wars. The wilds bring forth the various kinds of horses for thy stables. The Rúmís send cuirasses; the Russians send helmets; Rúm, Baghdád, Wásit, and Shustar forward the choice robes of their manufacture. At all times every one presents as many valuable things as his means admit. Who is able to show a living? but thou art able, thou destroying champion. Glory to my sovereign lord, and may he long live, who has a son resembling him in greatness and power. ^{* * *} May thy Government, thy actions, thy splendour, and the kingly power bestowed on thee by thy father be propitious, and prove a blessing unto thee.* ^{* * *} On the top of hills my youth is wasted without any repining. My verses are remembered in every assembly; fresh mention of my name is made in every chamber. The justice and munificence of the Sultán towards me are great. He has given me bread which is sufficient, and bestows happiness upon me without alloy. My affections draw me towards my native country, my love of my daughter and my son. When I was in Hindustán, I resided upon the estate of my old father. The slave Bú Nasr appointed me to a command, like other náíbs. But I was not a náíb, inasmuch as I had not the means and appliances which were thought sufficient for them. I had a few servants very black, and a few horses very thin. All these appurtenances are necessary in a Government to enable the administration to be conducted with honour. The partridge and hawk do not fly together; the lion and antelope do not associate. How dare the turbulent advance their foot in opposition to thy power?

Thanks to the incomprehensible God, that the Amír and Sháh of Hindustán, the Sword of State and Religion, the honour of our faith, Prince Mahmúd, son of Ibráhím, has returned from Hindustán to the Sultán, the just lord of the world. ^{* * *} When thou camest over the deserts in the month of Nísan for the purpose of this in­terview, thou didst cross the Chandráha, the Jailam, the Waihind, and Mahminára,* as Moses did the Nile of Egypt.

* * * * * * * *

'Alá-u daula Mas'úd, by the aid of Islám, raised a thousand standards, round each of which was arrayed a gallant army. He turned his face towards Hindustán, to prosecute a holy war. ^{* * *} With a valiant army of Turks and others, and by the aid of the King, they took Mulhí, the accursed God-forsaken Chief of Hind. They placed chains on his feet and a collar on his neck. They carried him to the royal presence. Kanauj was the capital of Hind, which the infidels regarded as their pole-star. Its story is not con­cealed, for it was the Ka'ba of the Samanís, and the Kibla of the infidels. The treasures of Hind were collected in it, just as all rivers flow into the sea.* Mulhí had soldiers, wealth, elephants, and arms: conceive therefore what else he had. He had taken possession of Hind by force, for he was the Ka'ba of the wicked, and the Kibla of the infidels. His face was black, his deeds demoniacal, his religion was witchcraft, his disposition that of a tiger begotten of the devil, of the family of hell, a worshipper of idols. ^{* * *} He bounded up in alarm, and had such fear for his life that he looked on his sacred thread as the folds of a snake. ^{* * *} From the raining of thy swords, the garden of Hind bloomed; the bones were white as jessamine,* and the blood red as a rose. ^{* * *} Oh, powerful Lord, it is now nearly ten years that my life has been wasting with sorrow and anguish. My body has become as thin as a hair, my heart is burning and my chest is torn with my long blue nails. ^{* * *} Why should I turn my face away from thy exalted dynasty, for I have been a slave of it for seven generations. Sa'd Salmán did service for fifty years, and obtained these large estates with difficulty and made them over to me; but my enemies have taken them away from me, and my house is destroyed. I came with a petition that justice might be done, but have met no satisfaction. I know no fault or crime of my own, but my deceitful enemy planned my destruction. No one has ever seen me throw away my arms, there was during the battle a sword in my hand, nor have I shown my back in flight, and in the disaster an arrow penetrated my eye. Let all the infidels be asked if I did not serve the Sháh like other slaves. I sing thy praises like a nightingale; why then am I cooped up like a hawk in a hill fortress?