A. H. 940.
A. D. 1533.

to proceed in bodies of from five to six thousand, to scour the country in rear of the enemy's camp, wherein famine began to be severely felt, so that men, horses, ele­phants, and camels perished daily in great numbers. Finding himself hemmed in on all sides, Bahadur Shah, accompanied by only five persons, con­sisting of Moobarik Khan, the ruler of Kandeish; Kadir Khan, who afterwards became ruler of Malwa; his own general, Sudr Jehan Khan, and two servants, left his camp in the night, and fled towards Mando. This event was no sooner known in the morning than Bahadur Shah's army dis­persed. Hoomayoon ordered a pursuit, which was continued as far as Mando; and a great slaughter was committed on the unfortunate wretches, who had neither the power to escape nor the means to defend themselves. Bahadur Shah threw himself into Mando, and was invested therein.

A few days after, three hundred Moguls esca­laded the walls of Mando in the night; and though the garrison consisted of many thousand men, such was the panic into which they were thrown, that they betook themselves to flight. Bahadur Shah escaped with five thousand horse, and reached the town of Champanere, which had become the capital of Guzerat, while Sudr Jehan Khan, his general, being dangerously wounded, and unable to pro­ceed, shut himself up in the citadel of the fort

A. H. 941.
A. D. 1534.

of Mando, called Songur. Herein he was besieged, and capitulated on the second day; but on account of his ex­cellent character, and his valour, he was received into favour by Hoomayoon. During the flight from Mundsoor, Sudr Jehan Khan had saved Bahadur Shah's life when very nearly taken by Hoomayoon in person. On this occasion, he threw himself between Hoomayoon's guards and his master, giving the latter an opportunity of escap­ing, and after himself receiving several wounds, one of which was from the hand of Hoomayoon, he reached Mando with great difficulty.

Three days after the capture of Mando, Hoo-mayoon renewed the pursuit of Bahadur Shah, who, having taken all his treasure and jewels out of the city of Champanere, * fled towards Ahmud-abad. The city of Champanere, however, was devoted to plunder, while the reduction of the citadel (which still held out) being left to Dowlut Khwaja Birlas, Hoomayoon continued in pursuit of the King of Guzerat. Bahadur Shah, hearing of the approach of the Moguls, fled to Cambay in the first instance, and eventually to the island of Dew. He was pursued so closely by Hoomayoon, that he arrived at Cambay on the very evening Bahadur Shah left it.

Hoomayoon, however, having heard that Ba­hadur Shah's wealth was principally in the cita­del of Champanere, he returned to superintend the siege of that place. Yekhtyar Khan, of Gu­zerat, defended the fort with great bravery; yet, though he had some years' provision in the fort, still, with that propensity to accumulate which belongs to some men, he was desirous of obtaining more, and was in the habit of receiving supplies daily by a secret pathway, leading through a thick wood. Hoomayoon, while one day recon­noitring, suspecting this fact, seized a party of country people who conveyed the supplies, and induced them to carry him, in disguise, to the spot where they gained admittance. After making the necessary observations, he returned to his camp. On the same night, having procured a number of steel spikes to be constructed, and selected a body of three hundred men for the purpose, he determined to attempt to take the place by escalade. Accordingly several false attacks were made by moonlight on other quarters. As access to this part of the fortress was extremely difficult, the enemy had confidently withdrawn the troops to repel the other assaults. The King was thus enabled to fix at leisure his steel spikes, without interruption, in the scarp of the rock, by which means thirty-nine officers ascended: the last was Beiram Khan Toorkoman, * after whom Hooma-yoon himself mounted, making the fortieth. Before sunrise, his whole detachment was within the walls, when displaying a preconcerted signal, his troops attacked the garrison with vigour on all sides. At this moment Hoomayoon, at the head of his detachment, calling out “Alla Akbur†,” * forced his way, sword in hand, through the enemy, and possessed himself of one of the gates, through which he admitted his troops. The whole garrison, excepting Yekhtyar Khan and his family, who were in the citadel (called Moolba), were put to the sword; but the governor, who had defended it so bravely, obtained honourable terms. The great strength of this place, the numerous garrison, and the boldness and success of the enterprise by which its capture was achieved, render this action equal, in the opinion of military men, to any thing of the kind recorded in history. Here the treasure of Guzerat, the accumulation of many years, was distributed among the troops; Hoomayoon gave to his officers and soldiers as much gold, silver, or jewels, as could be heaped upon their respective shields, proportioning the value to their rank and merit; for the wealth of Room, * Khutta, and Furung, which had been there collected to a vast amount, fell into the hands of the captors on this occasion.

Bahadur Shah, having secured himself in the island of Dew, sent Imad-ool-Moolk, a Circassian, (the father of that Chungiz Khan who was sub­sequently murdered) to Ahmudabad, to collect the revenues, and to levy troops, and he suc­ceeded so well, that the King of Guzerat, shortly after, found himself at the head of fifty thousand men, and daily gained a new accession of power. Hoomayoon hearing of this circumstance, after nominating Tardy Beg to command the fort of Champanere and the adjacent countries, marched in person towards Ahmudabad. Imad-ool-Moolk drew out his troops to oppose him, near Maho-moodabad, but was defeated. On this occasion, the vanguard only of Hoomayoon's army, com­manded by Askurry Mirza, was engaged. The rest of the Moguls did not arrive in time to be brought into action. In reward for this signal service, Aksurry Mirza received the government of Ahmudabad. Hoomayoon now divided the provinces of Guzerat among his officers, and marched to Boorhanpoor. In this state of affairs, Boorhan Nizam Shah, Imad Shah, and the other sovereigns of the Deccan, apprehensive of his designs, wrote submissive letters, tendering their allegiance. Hoomayoon had scarcely obtained these flattering tokens of his success, when accounts arrived of the insurrection created in the north by Sheer Khan. Having received the submission of Kandeish, Hoomayoon proceeded to Mando. It was during this march that Khondameer, the author of the Hubeeb-oos-Seer, died in his camp. The remains of this eminent person were con­veyed to Dehly, and interred in the same vault with Ameer Khoosrow and Sheikh Nizam-ood Deen Owlia.

In Guzerat, Imad-ool-Moolk, and the other nobles of the old government, again collected troops, and appeared in force in the neighbour­hood of Ahmudabad. Yadgar Nasir Mirza, the ruler of Puttun, and Kasim Hoossein Sooltan, ruler of Baroach, themselves princes by descent, were compelled to quit their stations, and unite with Askurry Mirza. It happened one night, while engaged in drinking wine, Askurry Mirza observed, “Am not I a king, God's representative “on earth?” Ghuzunfur Beg Koka, one of Askurry Mirza's foster brothers, and the full brother of Mehdy Kasim Khan, whispered in his ear, “You are a king, but not an independent “one.” His companions smiled, and bantered Askurry Mirza on the subject, till he became so vexed, that he gave orders next day to seize Ghuzunfur Beg, who shortly after made his escape, and joined Bahadur Shah at Dew, where having assured him that the Moguls were only waiting for some plea to quit the country, he offered to conduct his troops against them, and even agreed to suffer death if they opposed him with resolution.

Bahadur Shah, who had ensured the aid of the inhabitants, did not fail to take advantage of this overture, and proceeded towards Ahmuda-bad, while Hindoo Beg, one of the Mogul chiefs, strongly advised Askurry Mirza to proclaim him­self king, in order to secure the confidence of the troops. Although Askurry Mirza, in reality, de­sired nothing more, he pretended at the time to reprove Hindoo Beg severely for the suggestion; and, on the next day, having marched out of Ah-mudabad, he encamped near Assavul, in the neighbourhood of Surkech. The Guzerat army under Bahadur Shah reached that place about the same time, when the Moguls fired a few shots into Bahadur Shah's camp, one of which struck his tent. Vexed at this circumstance, he sent for Guzunfur Beg Koka, in order to execute him; but he was restrained by his assuring him that he had certain information of Askurry Mirza's intended retreat on that very night. It turned out as he said; for Askurry Mirza, calculating on securing Hoomayoon's treasure at Champanere, marched towards that fortress. Bahadur Shah pursued him during two or three days, but re­turned; while Tardy Beg, the governor of Cham-panere, on discovering Askurry Mirza's object, resolved to put him to death rather than suffer him to obtain the treasure. Askurry Mirza, find­ing his design frustrated, marched to Agra, rais­ing troops on the road: meanwhile, Hooma-yoon, anticipating his views, left Mando, and reached Agra before him. Askurry Mirza, on hearing that Hoomayoon had already arrived, per­ceived that his diabolical projects had all miscar­ried. Accordingly, he, together with Yadgar Nasir Mirza, and Kasim Sooltan, represented to Hoo-mayoon, that being unable to maintain Guzerat against Bahadur Shah, they had returned to join the King at Agra. Tardy Beg Khan also shortly after surrendered the fort of Champanere to Bahadur Shah, and joined Hoomayoon, who, although not deceived, considered it prudent to profess himself satisfied with their conduct, and to take no notice of it. Thus the countries of Malwa and Guzerat, the conquest of which had been obtained by the exertions of so fine an army, were now abandoned without a struggle.