[The Nauroz of the Fourth Year fell on the 14th Zí-l hijja, 1017 (11th March, 1609).
It had now become manifest that, to secure the settlement of the Dakhin, one of the Princes must be sent thither, and I accordingly resolved upon sending Parwez.*]
[The Nau-roz of the Fifth Year fell on the 24th Zí-l hijja, 1018 (10th March, 1610).]
[On the 19th of Urdíbihisht, in the fifth year of my reign, a wonderful event took place in Patna, which is the chief residence of the governor of the province of Bihár. When Afzal Khán, the governor of the province, was about to march to Gorakpúr, which had been recently conferred on him in jágír, and which lies at about sixty kos distance from Patna, he placed the fort and the city in charge of Shaikh Banárasí and Ghiyás Zain Khání the díwán, and other mansabdars; but thinking that there was no enemy in the country, he never thought of making provision for the security of the fort and city.
It happened that in his absence a turbulent and seditious person of U'ch, by name Kutb, came in the habit of a fakír, into the territory of Ujjainiya, which lies near Patna, and having made friends with some people of notorious character, declared himself to be Khusrú, and said that, having escaped from prison, he had come there; and that those who joined and helped him should share in his success. With such false words, he assured those foolish people of the truth of his pretensions. As his eyes had been branded in days gone by, he told those people that while he was in prison hot cups had been tied over his eyes, which had left that mark.* By these means he succeeded in collecting a number of horse and foot. As these insurgents had received intelligence of Afzal Khán's absence from Patna, they took advantage of the opportunity, and having entered the city, made an attack upon the fort. On one occasion Shaikh Banárasí, who was in the fort, being confounded, came down to the gate; but the enemy pushed in, and would not let him close it. Then he went with Ghiyás, and getting out of a window on the riverside, they procured a boat, and endeavoured to make their way to Afzal Khán.
The rebels, flushed with success, entered the fort, took possession of all the property of Afzal Khán, and all the royal treasure. A number of the vagabonds and adventurers of the city and suburbs also joined with them. The intelligence of this outrage reached Afzal Khán in Gorakpúr, and Shaikh Banárasí and Ghiyás also arrived by water. Several letters from the city stated that the pretender was only an impostor, and had falsely assumed the name of Khusrú. Afzal Khán, depending upon the favour of God and the aid of my fortunate star, immediately marched against the insurgents. In five days he arrived at Patna. The enemy having left one of their leaders in the fort, marched out both horse and foot to oppose him, and took post at four kos from the city, on the river Punpun, in array of battle, The engagement began, and the insurgents, after a slight resistance, took to flight in consternation. A number of them fled back into the fort, but Afzal Khán pursued them so closely, that he prevented them from shutting the gate. In panic they rushed into the house of Afzal Khán, and there held out till the evening. They shot about thirty men with their arrows. The impostor at last, when his companions were going to hell, and he had become helpless, came out to the presence of Afzal Khán. The Khán, to quash the rebellion, put him to death on the same day, and sent several of his followers who had been captured into confinement. When I was informed of this outbreak, I had Shaikh Banárasí, Ghiyás Ríhání, and the other officers brought to A'gra. I then ordered that their heads and beards should be shaved, and that they should be dressed in sordid garments, and be paraded round the city on the backs of asses, as a punishment to them and as a warning to others.]
[On the 2nd A'bán, Khán-khánán came to present himself
before me. I had received many complaints, true or untrue,
about him, so I was estranged from him, and did not treat him
with that kindness and attention which I had ever shown him,
and which I had seen my venerable father show him. He had
been sent on service to the Dakhin for a certain time, in attendance
upon Prince Parwez. He and other amírs had started on
this important duty; but when he arrived at Burhánpúr, regardless
of the time being unfavourable for operations, and the want
of supplies and necessaries, he led Sultán Parwez and the army
to the Bálághát. Ill-feeling and discord prevailed among the
amírs, and at length the grain was exhausted, and none was to
be obtained for money. The men were reduced to distress, and
there was no means of carrying the matter further. Horses,
camels, and other quadrupeds sank exhausted. So he patched
up a sort of peace with the enemy, and conducted Sultán Parwez
and the army back to Burhánpúr. This reverse and distress
brought me many letters of complaint against Khán-khánán,
but I did not believe all that was stated. A letter also came
from Khán Jahán, in which he said, “All the disasters have
happened through the bad management of the Khán-khánán.
Either confirm him in his command, or recall him to Court and
appoint me to perform the service. If 30,000 horse are sent as
a reinforcement, I will undertake in the course of two years to
recover all the Imperial territory from the enemy, to take Kanda-
From the time of the conquest of Ahmadnagar by my late brother Dániyál to the present, the place had been under the command of Khwájá Beg Mirzá Safawi, a relation of Sháh Tahmasp of Persia; but since their late successes, the Dakhinís had invested the town. Every effort was made to defend the place, and Khán-khánán, and the other amírs who were with Prince Parwez at Burhánpúr, marched forth to relieve it. Through the jealousies and dissensions of the leaders, and from want of supplies, the army was conducted by improper roads through mountains and difficult passes, and in a short time it was disorganized, and so much in want of food, that it was compelled to retreat. The hopes of the garrison were fixed on this force, and its retreat filled them with despair. They desired to evacuate the place. Khwájá Beg Mirzá did his best to console and encourage them; but in vain, so he capitulated on terms, and retired with his men to Burhánpúr. When the despatches arrived, and I found that the Khwájá had fought bravely and done his best, I promoted him to a mansab of 5000, and gave him a suitable jágír.]
[New Year's Day of the sixth year fell on the 6th Muharram, 1020 (12th March, 1611).] * * *
One of the royal slaves, who was employed as an ornamental carver, presented me with a most extraordinary instance of his ingenuity. It was such a marvel as I had neither seen nor heard of before, and therefore a brief description of it will be interesting. He had fixed within the shell of a filbert a piece of painted ivory, which he had divided into four compartments. The first contains five individuals. Two are wrestling with each other, the third stands with a spear, the fourth bears a heavy stone, and the fifth is sitting with his hands on the ground, with a staff, a bow, and a cup before him. The second part represents a throne, on which a king sits under a magnificent canopy. One leg is crossed over the other, and he has a cushion behind his back. Five servants are in attendance round about him, and the shade of a tree spreads over the whole. The third part exhibits a party of rope-dancers. There is a long bamboo supported by three ropes. One man dances upon the rope in an extraordinary attitude. He holds his right leg at the back of his head by his left hand. There is a goat also standing on the top of a stick. The second man beats a drum which hangs round his neck, while the third person stands holding up his hands and looking at the rope. Five individuals are also standing by him, one bearing a stick in his hand. The fourth part represents a large tree, under which Jesus Christ is sitting. One man is bowing his head at the feet of Jesus, while an old man is talking with him. Four other men are standing by his side. In acknowledgment of this wonderful piece of workmanship, I rewarded the artist with a handsome present and an increase of his allowances. * * *
It had repeatedly come to my hearing, that the amírs at the frontier posts were in the habit of requiring certain observances to which they had no right, paying no regard to the established rules and ordinances. Accordingly, the bakhshís were ordered to issue farmáns prohibiting them from observing in future those practices which are peculiar to emperors. 1. Not to sit at the jharoka or window.* 2. Not to give the amírs and sardárs serving under them the annoyance of their own chair or of requiring obeisance to the chair.* 3. Not to have elephant fights. 4. Not to punish any person by ordering him to be blinded, or to have his nose or ears cut off. 5. Not to forcibly impose Musulmán burdens (taklíf-i Musulmání) on any one.* 6. Not to grant titles to their servants. 7. Not to require the servants of the State to bow their bodies or to touch the ground before them.* 8. Not to trouble the singers and musicians to give chairs after the manner of a darbar.* 9. Not to have the drums beaten at the time of their going out. 10. When they presented a horse or elephant to any man, whether a public or private servant, they were not to require obeisance from him with a horse's bridle or an elephant's goad placed upon his back. 11. Not to make the royal servants to walk on foot in their retinue. 12. Not to place their seals upon letters addressed to royal servants. These rules, which were promulgated under the title of A'ín-i Jahángírí, are now in force.