Tūzuk-i Jahāngīrī - The Memoirs of Jahangueir (Price)

THE Persian Manuscript which has furnished materials for this Work not being distinguished by any particular title, the Translator would have ventured to style it the WAKIAATI JAHANGUIRI, or to bestow on it some other name equally signifying “Incidents in “the Reign of the Emperor Jahangueir.” But to supply an Oriental name from mere conjecture seemed unnecessary, as the contents could be indicated with sufficient accuracy in an English title-page.

Besides, from some extracts, occupying about seventeen pages in the “Asiatick Miscellany” (printed at Calcutta 1785-1786, vol. ii., pp. 71-173) it would appear to be the same, or nearly the same, with that work which was described by an accomplished Orientalist, who translated those passages (James Anderson, Esq.) as the “TOOZUK E “JEHANGEERY (), or Memoirs of JEHANGEER written by “himself, and containing a History of the Transactions of the First “thirteen years of his Reign.” But Mr. Anderson did not profess to give more than a few extracts from the Toozuk; and a comparison of these with the present work, will show that he must have occasionally omitted whole pages between certain facts recorded in both.

N.B. In this work the Arabic or Persian letter is expressed by kh, as in Khaun, Sheikh, &c. The letter in the beginning of a word is generally expressed by J, as in Jummaudy, Jaguir; in other parts of a word by dj, as Hidjerah, Adjmeir, or by the simple j, as in Punjaub, Khanjar, &c. The letter is represented by gh, as Chirâgh, Afghan: the Arabic by th, as in Thauni: the long generally by au, as in Khaun, Zauhed, Bauz, &c. The at the beginning of a word by Y, as in Yaheya; in other parts generally by ei, as Peishkesh, Seleim, Parveiz, &c. At the beginning of a word is expressed by V, as in Vezzeir; in other places by w, as Diwan; or by ou, as in Roum, Nour, &c. To express the Persian letter before guei or gui are used, as in Jahangueir, Jaguir, &c.

[On Ascending the Throne and Selecting a Royal Name]

TO HIM whose name is inscribed at the head of all that has existence; the characters of whose glory are stamped on the walls and portals of the universe: to the Eternal Designer, who with a word, from the bosom of nothing, brought forth the celestial spheres and the elements of created nature: to the Omnipotent Architect, who spread above us the alternate vaults of the firmament, and arrayed this globe of earth with the splendours of his might: to Him be endless praise and illimitable gratitude; and on our prophet Mahommed, that most excellent of created beings, who released mankind from the mazes of error, and conducted them to the high road of truth and duty, be countless blessings: to whom was given, from God, authority over all terrestrial power, and over all other prophets the pre-eminence; the Messiah himself bearing the glad tidings of his approach; of his approach at whose lamp the great legislator of Israel, the God-spoken prophet, sought to secure a spark of heavenly light.

For a memorial of sundry events incidental to myself, I have undertaken to describe a small portion, in order that some traces thereof may be preserved on the records of time.

On Thursday, then, the eighth of the latter month of Jummaudy, of the year of the Hidjera one thousand and fourteen,^* at the metropolis of Agrah, and in the forenoon of the day, being then arrived at the age of thirty-eight, I became Emperor, and under auspices the most felicitous, took my seat on the throne of my wishes. Let it not produce a smile that I should have set my heart on the delusions of this world. Am I greater than Solomon, who placed his pillow upon the winds? As at the very instant that I seated myself on the throne the sun rose from the horizon, I accepted this as the omen of victory, and as indicating a reign of unvarying prosperity. Hence I assumed the titles of Jahangueir Padshah, and Jahangueir Shah: the world-subduing emperor; the world-subduing king. I ordained that the following legend should be stamped on the coinage of the empire: “Stricken at Agrah by that Khossrou, the safeguard of the world; the sovereign splendour of the faith, Jahangueir, son of the imperial Akbar.”

On this occasion I made use of the throne prepared by my father, and enriched at an expense without parallel, for the celebration of the festival of the new year, at the entrance of the sun into Aries. In the fabrication of the throne a sum not far short of ten krours of ashrefies,^* of five mithkals the ashrefy, was expended in jewels alone; a krour being the term for an hundred laks, and a lak being one hundred thousand, independently of three hundred maunns of gold, Hindustanny measure, employed in the workmanship, each maunn of Hind being equal to ten maunns of Irâk.^† For the convenience of removal from place to place the throne was, moreover, so constructed, that it could be easily taken to pieces, and again put together at pleasure. The legs and body of the throne were at the same time loaded with fifty maunns of ambergris, so that wherever it might be found expedient to put it together, no further perfumes were necessary, for an assemblage of whatever magnitude.

Having thus seated myself on the throne of my expectations and wishes, I caused also the imperial crown, which my father had caused to be made after the manner of that which was worn by the great kings of Persia, to be brought before me, and then, in the presence of the whole assembled Ameirs, having placed it on my brows, as an omen auspicious to the stability and happiness of my reign, kept it there for the space of a full astronomical hour. On each of the twelve points of this crown was a single diamond of the value of one lak of ashrefies of five mithkals, the whole purchased by my father with the resources of his own government, not from any thing accruing to him by inheritance from his predecessors. At the point in the centre of the top part of the crown was a single pearl of four mithkals, of the value of one lak of ashrefies; and on different parts of the same were set altogether two hundred rubies of one mithkal each, and each of the value of six thousand rupees.^*

For forty days and forty nights I caused the nuggaurah, or great imperial state drum, to strike up, without ceasing, the strains of joy and triumph; and for an extent of nearly fifty zereibs around my throne, the ground was spread by my directions with the most costly brocades and gold embroidered carpets. Censors of gold and silver were disposed in different directions for the purpose of burning odoriferous drugs, and nearly three thousand camphorated wax lights, three cubits in length, in branches of gold and silver perfumed with ambergris, illuminated the scene from night till morning. Numbers of blooming youths, beautiful as young Joseph in the pavilions of Egypt, clad in dresses of the most costly materials, woven in silk and gold, with zones and amulets sparkling with the lustre of the diamond, the emerald, the sapphire, and the ruby, awaited my commands, rank after rank, and in attitude most respectful. And finally, the Ameirs of the empire, from the captain of five hundred to the commander of five thousand horse, and to the number of nine individuals, covered from head to foot in gold and jewels, and shoulder to shoulder, stood round in brilliant array, also waiting for the commands of their sovereign. For forty days and forty nights did I keep open to the world these scenes of festivity and splendour, furnishing altogether an example of imperial magnificence seldom paralleled in this stage of earthly existence.

Until he had attained to the age of eight and twenty my father had had no child that survived its birth beyond one astronomical hour; and the circumstance was to him the subject of very deep concern. To obtain, therefore, the object of his wishes in this respect, many and anxious were the supplications which he addressed to the throne of Omnipotence. While he languished in this state of anxiety, one of his Ameirs, aware of his unbounded reverence for, and confidence in the influence of the class of derveishes, mentioned to him one day, that at the tomb of the venerated Moyen-ud-dein Tehousty, at Adjmeir, there resided a peir, or holy recluse, distinguished for the purity of his life and manners, in which, as he said, not only in India, but in the whole world, he was that day without his equal. In the ardour of zeal and hope, my father expressed a determination, that should Providence bestow upon him a child that might survive, he would walk all the way on foot from the metropolis of Agrah to Adjmeir, a distance of not less than one hundred and forty kôss,^* for the sole purpose of offering his vows at the shrine of the saint. As my father’s determination sprung from the sincerity of his heart, just six months after the death of my last departed infant brother, namely, on Wednesday the seventeenth of the former month of Rebbeia, of the year of the Hidjerah 978,^† the sun being in the twenty-fourth degree of Libra, and when seven gurries of the day were passed, the Most High ushered the humble narrator of these events into this stage of existence.

Faithful to his engagement, my father, whose mansion is now on the empyrean, accompanied by several of the most distinguished Ameirs of his court, took his departure from Agrah, and proceeding on foot at the rate of five koss a day, presented himself on his arrival at Adjmeir before the shrine of Moyen-ud-dein, and having performed his devotions, hastened without further delay in quest of the derveish, through the influence of whose piety he had obtained the object of his anxious supplications. The pious recluse bore the name of Sheikh Seleim, and my father, on repairing to the place of his residence, then lodging me in his arms, intreated him to pray to God for the safety of his infant child. This however was not all: during his visit my father ventured to inquire of the derveish if he could undertake to tell him the number of the sons whom the Almighty in his providence had decreed to bestow upon him. Elated at the moment by the presence of his imperial visitor, the derveish did not hesitate to announce to my father that Providence would bless him with three sons. “Of these,” cried my father, “I have cast the first-born into thy bosom.”—“Blessings upon it,” replied the derveish, “since thou hast committed the child to my arms, I have given him the name of Mahommed Seleim.” Accepting these testimonies of attention on the part of the derveish as greatly auspicious to his hopes, my father then returned to his capital, where, for the space of fourteen years afterwards, he continued to maintain with this holy recluse an intercourse of the closest intimacy.

[In this place there appears something of an omission in the manuscript, as the imperial memorialist is made to refer rather abruptly to the village of Sikry, to which, in commemoration of the conquest of Gûjerat, he states that his father gave the name of Futtahpour—Nicopolis.]

I must however observe, continues the imperial narrator, that from my father’s anointed lips, I never on any occasion heard myself called by the name of Mahommed Seleim; baba (child) being the more paternal and affectionate appellation by which he invariably addressed me. And, peradventure, I might have been contented to the last with the title of Sultan Seleim: but to place myself on a par with the monarchs of the Turkish empire (Roum), and considering that universal conquest is the peculiar vocation of sovereign princes, I thought it incumbent on me to assume at my accession that of Jahangueir Padshah, as the title which best suited my character: and I trust, with the aid of a gracious Providence, with length of life, and a favouring star, that I shall so acquit myself as to justify the appellation.

[On the Regulations and Appointments of the Empire]
 
[Twelve Special Regulations]

The very first ordinance which issued from me, on ascending the throne of my ancestors, was that which related to the chain of justice, one end of which I caused to be fastened to the battlements of the royal tower of the castle of Agrah, and the other to a stone pillar near the bed of the river Jumnah; to the end that, when at any time the dispensers of law under my authority might fail in the administration of justice, the injured party by applying his hand to the chain would find himself in the way of obtaining speedy redress. The chain was of gold, one hundred and forty guzz in length, with eighty small bells attached at different distances, and it was of the weight of sixty maunns of Hindûstaun, equal to six hundred maunns of Irâk.^*

I instituted twelve special regulations, to be applied by the different functionaries of the empire as rules of conduct, never to be deviated from in their respective stations.

1. I remitted altogether to my subjects three several sources of revenue, the Zekhaut, Sermohary, and Tumgha, which in the whole yielded to my father no less than sixteen hundred Hindustany maunns of gold, equal to sixteen thousand maunns of Irâk.^†

2. I ordained that wherever the property of God’s people entrusted to my charge should be wrested from them, either by highway robbery or any other act of violence, the inhabitants of the district, as best knowing whence it proceeded, should be compelled to produce either the property or the depredator. I directed, when the district lay waste or destitute of inhabitants, that towns should be built, and the population registered, and every method resorted to that might contribute to protect the subject from injury. I charged the Jaguirdaurs, or feudatories of the empire, in such deserted places to erect mosques and substantial serrais, or stations for the accommodation of travellers, in order to render the district once more an inhabited country, and that wayfaring men might again be able to pass and repass in safety. For these purposes I provided that where the district was immediately dependent on the crown, and the residence of a Kroury,^* that officer was authorized to prosecute these works at the expense of the imperial treasury.

3. Merchants travelling through the country were not to have their bales or packages of any kind opened without their consent. But when they were perfectly willing to dispose of any article of merchandize purchasers were permitted to deal with them, without, however, offering any species of molestation.

4. When a person shall die and leave children, the individual not being in the employment of the state, no man whatever was to interfere a pin’s point in his property, nor to offer the slightest molestation to the children: but when there were neither children nor direct or unquestionable heirs, the inheritance was to be applied to defray the expenses incurred for mosques and talaub, or water-tanks, so as to secure perpetual blessings on the soul of the departed.

5. No person was permitted either to make or sell either wine or any other kind of intoxicating liquor. I undertook to institute this regulation, although it is sufficiently notorious that I have myself the strongest inclination for wine, in which from the age of sixteen I have liberally indulged. And in very truth, encompassed as I was with youthful associates of congenial minds, breathing the air of a delicious climate—ranging through lofty and splendid saloons, every part of which decorated with all the graces of painting and sculpture, and the floors bespread with the richest carpets of silk and gold, would it not have been a species of folly to have rejected the aid of an exhilarating cordial—and what cordial can surpass the juice of the grape? May it not happen that theriauk, or opiates, or stimulants, have been rendered habitual to the constitution? and heaven forbid that this should deprive a man of the most generous feelings of his nature. With some acknowledged beneficial effects, it must however be confessed, that these indulgences to excess must expose a man’s infirmities, prostrate his constitutional vigour, and awaken false desires, such being the most injurious properties belonging to the list of stimulants.^† At the same time, we cannot but remember that kelourica is brother’s son to theriauk.

For myself, I cannot but acknowledge that such was the excess to which I had carried my indulgence, that my usual daily allowance extended to twenty, and sometimes to more than twenty cups, each cup containing half a seir (about six ounces), and eight cups being equal to a maunn of Irâk.^* So far, indeed, was this baneful propensity carried, that if I were but an hour without my beverage, my hands began to shake and I was unable to sit at rest. Convinced by these symptoms, that if the habit gained upon me in this proportion my situation must soon become one of the utmost peril, I felt it full time to devise some expedient to abate the evil: and in six months I accordingly succeeded in reducing my quantity gradually from twenty to five cups a day. At entertainments I continued, however, to indulge in a cup or two more: and on most occasions I made it a rule never to commence my indulgence until about two hours before the close of the day. But now that the affairs of the empire demand my utmost vigilance and attention, my potations do not commence until after the hour of evening prayer, my quantity never exceeding five cups on any occasion; neither would more than that quantity suit the state of my stomach. Once a day I take my regular meal, and once a day seems quite sufficient to assuage my appetite for wine; but as drink seems not less necessary than meat for the sustenance of man, it appears very difficult, if not impossible, for me to discontinue altogether the use of wine. Nevertheless, I bear in mind, and I trust in heaven that, like my grandfather Homayun, who succeeded in divesting himself of the habit before he attained to the age of forty-five, I also may be supported in my resolution, some time or other to abandon the pernicious practice altogether. “In a point wherein God has pronounced his sure displeasure, let the creature exert himself ever so little towards amendment, and it may prove, in no small degree, the means of eternal salvation.”

6. No person was permitted to take up his abode obtrusively in the dwelling of any subject of my realm. On the contrary, when individuals serving in the armies of the state came to any town, and could without compulsion secure an abode by rent, it were commendable; otherwise they were to pitch their tents without the place, and prepare habitations for themselves. For what grievance could be more irksome to the subject than to see a perfect stranger obtrude into the bosom of his family, and take possession most probably of the most convenient part of his dwelling, leaving to his women and children, peradventure, not space enough to stretch out an arm!

7. No person was to suffer, for any offence, the loss of a nose or ear. If the crime were theft, the offender was to be scourged with thorns, or deterred from further transgression by an attestation on the Korân.^†

8. The Krouries and Jaguirdaurs were prohibited from possessing themselves by violence of the lands of the subject, or from cultivating them on their own account; neither was the Jaguirdaur or feudatory of any district to exercise any sort of authority beyond the limits of his own, nor to force either man or beast from another district into his own. On the contrary, his attention was to be wholly and exclusively devoted to the cultivation and improvement of the district allotted to himself.

9. [This article is perfectly unintelligible in the manuscript, but seems directed to impose some restraint on the improper use of theriauk or antidotes of any kind, or possibly prescribing the rule by which they shall be administered.]

10. The governors in all the principal cities were directed to establish infirmaries or hospitals, with competent medical aid for the relief of the sick, who were to be conveyed thither; the expense to be defrayed from the imperial exchequer until the final recovery of the patient, who was then to be discharged with a sufficient sum of money for his exigencies.

11. During the month of my birth, which was that of the former Rebbeia, the use of all animal food was prohibited both in town and country; and at equidistant periods throughout the year a day was set apart, on which all slaughtering of animals was strictly forbidden. In every week also, on Thursday, that being the day of my accession, and Sunday, was forbidden the use of animal food, it being considered unjustifiable to deprive any animal of life on that day on which the creation of the world was finished. For a period of more than eleven years was the same abstinence observed by my father, during which on no consideration would he permit himself to taste of animal food on a Sunday. On that day, therefore, I thought it right to prohibit the use of such food in every place throughout my dominions.

12. I issued a decree confirming the dignitaries and feudatories of my father’s government in all that they had enjoyed while he was living; and where I found sufficient merit, I conferred an advance of rank in various gradations. Thus a commander of ten horse I advanced to the command of fifteen, and so on in proportion to the highest dignitaries of the realm.

[Experience of Predecessors and Early Donations]

On this point I cannot restrain myself from invoking the judgment of heaven upon those unworthy servants who had not the understanding to appreciate the value of the benefits thus liberally bestowed upon them. Such, I am compelled to observe, is the perverseness of human nature, that there were among them individuals who could not be brought, without the greatest reluctance, to yield to me the ordinary marks of homage and allegiance.^* With men thus turbulently disposed, we ought not, I say, to negociate on any terms, because their views invariably tend towards convulsions on the state, and their increasing prayers are for dissention and civil broil, as offering the only means of advancing their own base and sordid plans of ambition, forgetting that they are themselves the very description of men to be first swept away by the storm.

So just was the observation ascribed to Shah Tahmasp of Persia, now in Paradise, that I cannot forbear to introduce it in this place. Having just finished a tank or reservoir near one of his palaces, it occurred to him to ask his courtiers what they thought the best substance with which to fill it, independently of water. One of them gave his opinion in favour of gold. “Thou hast well said,” replied the monarch, “for thy prevailing propensity is avarice.” Another said he should like to see it brimful of sherbet, sugar, and rose-water, intermingled with pieces of ice. “Apparently,” observed the king, “thou art an opium-eater, and hast very correctly indicated thine appetite.” Others described one thing, and others different sorts of things, according to their several ideas: but Shah Tahmasp concluded by a declaration, that neither of these opinions coincided with the sentiments of his own mind; for that, in his judgment, the reservoir could not be better filled than with the blood of turbulent and disaffected men, the agents of tumult and commotion.^* And most truly, do I say, was it spoken; for since the death of my father, I have had abundant experience that the number of loyal and faithful men is deplorably small, and, if indeed at all to be met with, not more than one in a hundred thousand.

Of Shah Abbas, while I was yet prince royal, I remember hearing it related, that his attachment to Ferhaâd Khaun, one of his ministers, was so powerful, that once, when the minister lay sick of his wounds, his sovereign, during his frequent visits in the morning, was accustomed with his own tongue to lick the wounds; and he had been raised by his master to the very highest dignities in the Persian empire. Yet after all, was the monarch compelled to take off the head of the man so singularly cherished. I cannot entertain a doubt but that the Shah had too many reasons in justification: for long have I been convinced, that to tie up the hand against punishing the ingratitude of the traitor, is of all follies the most egregious. And yet, when thoroughly tried, the good and faithful servant cannot be too highly and liberally cherished. It cannot, however, be too often repeated, that the wretch who traffics for an advance of stipend at the moment his services are required, needs no further trial. He can be no other than a disloyal profligate.

To the individual stipendiaries of the government I assigned, at the same time, an increased allowance, in the proportion of fifteen to ten (that is, to him that had only ten, I assigned fifteen rupees), and to novices in trade, artisans possibly employed in the different arsenals, from ten to twelve in the aggregate. I augmented the allowance to the inmates of my father’s harram, consisting of nearly seven thousand individuals, from two to four ashrefies of five methkals a day each respectively,^* and independently of the royal presents which I conveyed to them on the usual annual festivals and days of rejoicing. During the reign of my father, the ministers of religion and students in law and literature, to the number of two and three thousand, in the principal cities of the empire, were already allowed pensions from the state; and to these, in conformity with the regulations established by my father, I directed Meiran Sudder Jahzan, one of the noblest among the Seyeds of Herât, to allot a subsistence corresponding with their situation; and this not only to the subjects of my own realms, but to foreigners—to natives of Persia, Roum, Bokhára, and Azerbaijan, with strict charge that this class of men should not be permitted either want or inconvenience in any shape: “Wealth is from God—all power is from him—and these are his servants:”—and since it hath pleased him, from among so many hundred thousand laks of the human race, to chuse me for the monarch of a mighty empire, of which the reins have thus been placed in my hands, I could not be justified in permitting distress to lay hold of those devoted to his service, or in neglecting to make myself acquainted with all their wants, and to adopt them as the objects of my peculiar care. For how fearful my responsibility on the great and awful day of account, were my conduct to be the reverse of what is here stated.

In the next place I decreed a general pardon and enlargement of prisoners throughout the empire, so that from the fortress of Gualiar alone there were set at liberty not less than seven thousand individuals, some of whom had been in confinement for forty years. Of the number discharged altogether on this occasion, some conception may be formed when it is mentioned, that within the limits of Hindustan there are not less than two thousand four hundred fortresses of name and competent strength, exclusively of those in the kingdom of Bengal, which surpass all reckoning: for Rajah Maun Sing had not less than two hundred and eighty sons, all of whom, at one time or another, were in rebellion against the authority of their father; in the course of which, retiring to the summits of the hills, they there erected these forts to screen themselves from the punishment due to their parricidal rebellion. And yet will it be believed, that in the space of not more than four years, the whole of that country, a country of many months’ journey in extent, with all its numberless forts, was completely subjugated by my father, all the sons of the Rajah being alternately destroyed; and the Rajah himself falling alive into the hands of his adversaries, finally submitted to the conqueror.

Among these my earliest regulations, I ordained that the precious metals included in the royalties of the empire should be coined anew in my own imperial name, assigning to each coin an altered denomination: thus, to the gold moher of two thousand tolahs,^* I gave the name of nour-e-shahy—light of the kingdom; to that of one thousand tolahs, nour-jahaun—light of the world; to that of five hundred tolahs, nour-e-doulut—light of the state; to that of one hundred, nour-moher—light of the sun; and to that of one tolah, which was substituted for the gold rupee, I gave the designation of Nour-ud-deen Mahommed, Jahangueir Padshah—light of the faith of Mahommed, Jahangueir emperor. Moreover, for every one of these coins in gold I struck a corresponding piece in silver, exhibiting on one side the year of my reign, on the other the attestation of our faith: La-illauh-il-ullah, and Mahommed-ur-russoul-ullah —there is no God but God, and Mahommed is the messenger of God.

[Decisions Involving Urban Planning and Religious Institutions]

The city of Agrah, it were almost superfluous to observe, is one of the greatest in Hindustan; and being defended by a citadel of great antiquity, my father had caused such citadel to be thrown down, and a new fabric of hewn stone to be erected on the site, as will be noticed in another place. I shall here only remark further, that the city is built on both banks of the river Jumnah, that part which is situated on the hither, or western side, being four kôsse in breadth and ten kôsse in circumference, and that on the opposite side being not more than two kôsse in breadth, and three kôsse in circumference.The multiplicity of noble structures erected on all sides, such as mosques of superior magnitude, baths, spacious caravanserais, and splendid private palaces, are to an extent that would place it on a par with the most celebrated cities in Irâk, Khorassaun, and the famed territory beyond the Jeyhoun (the Oæure), the ordinary dwellings of the inhabitants being built, for the greater part, three and four stories high. Such is the immensity of the population, that from the hour of evening prayer to the close of the first quarter of the night, the throng is so densely wedged, that it is not without the utmost difficulty the people can pass and repass along the streets.

As an attempt to ascertain in some degree the extent of this multitudinous population, I directed Melek Ally, the kotwaal, a superintendant of police, one day to make a tour through the city, and count the individuals assembled in the different maarekahs, or theatres for athletæ or pugilists; and his report was, that in none of these places did he find assembled less than two and three thousand persons, although it was neither the first of the new year, nor any of those days of public rejoicing on which it was usual for the people to appear abroad for amusement. From this it is considered that some estimate may be formed of the enormous multitude which thronged the city in every quarter. Add to this, that every day through the year there were conveyed to the place by boats along the Jumnah not less than ten thousand loads of fuel, and yet for dirrems it would be difficult to purchase a single branch, so rapid was the demand. For nearly eight months, moreover, which is the duration of the dry season, or the interval between the periodical rains, not less than five and six thousand horses for sale daily enter the city from Kabûl and the countries in that direction; and such is the rapidity with which they are disposed of, that not one is to be purchased on the succeeding day. In short, I do not know in the whole world, in magnitude and the multitude of its inhabitants, there is any city to be compared with the metropolis of Agrah.

With regard to situation, it lies in the second of the seven climates, with Kanouje to the east, Nagour to the west, Sumbul to the north, and to the south Chandeiry. [The imperial narrator introduces here the verses composed by Karuffy, a poet of Shirauz, in praise of Agrah, in the time of Akbar, when speaking of the palace of Sultan Khorrom, afterwards the Emperor Shahjahaun: which it is quite unnecessary. as well as tedious, to repeat.]

Agrah was, however, a city of considerable magnitude, even prior to the supremacy of the Afghans, and it is spoken of in terms of admiration by a poet of Gheznîn, in the time of Mûssaoud, the son of Ibrahim, the twelfth of the race of Sebectegîn, Mahmoud Ghazi being the fourth. With regard to the river Jumnah, we learn from the writings of the Hindûs, that it has its source in these mountains, which, from the intensity of the cold, are inaccessible to the approach of man without the greatest difficulty. When it first makes its appearance near Hasserabad to the north-west, it rushes with such impetuous force, that an elephant would be swept away like a straw. From the foot of the citadel of Agrah it bends its course in the direction of Bengal.

Again, when Sekunder Lodi was on his march from Dehly, which was at that period the metropolis of the Indian monarchy, for his attack on Gualeem, he came to Agrah, to which he immediately removed the seat of government from Dehly. And finally, when the Almighty Disposer of events thought fit in his wisdom to confer the empire of Hindûstaun upon our illustrious race, my ancestor the Emperor Bâber, after the defeat of Ibrahim, the son of Sekunder Lodi, the capture of Dehly, and subsequent reduction of Bengal, evinced his predilection for Agrah, by forming, on a spot on the opposite side of the Jumnah remarkable for the purity of the air, a spacious and magnificent garden. In one part of the garden he erected an elegant pavilion of hewn stone (green marble) of four stories, surmounted by a dome of twenty guzz in diameter,^* and surrounded by a colonnade or gallery, the pillars of which were of polished marble, and the ceilings decorated with gold and lapis-lazuli, formed into beautiful figures of the most elaborate workmanship. Within the gardens, moreover, he planted a covered avenue, carried to the distance of two kôsse in length, all of sapaury trees, each of which grows to the height of fifty cubits,^† the branches spreading at the top like an umbrella. In effect, for the formation of such an avenue, nothing can be better calculated than these lofty and graceful trees. In the centre of the garden (it might indeed without impropriety be called a park) he formed a basin one kôsse in circumference, the sides of which were faced all round with hewn stone, and in the centre of the basin he erected another pavilion of two stories, in which might be seated two hundred persons if necessary. The doors and walls of this also were decorated with beautiful figures of the most delicate designs, and the pavillion was approached by a convenient arched bridge of hewn stone. This garden extended altogether over a space of two hundred and fifty jerreibs,^‡ and received the name of Bezugh-e-gûlaf-shaun —the rose-diffusing. In an angle of the garden he also erected a spacious mosque, with a vaulted well^§ attached. During the reign of the same illustrious monarch, many kinds of fruit foreign to the climate of Hindustuan were also introduced and planted in this garden. I shall mention one in particular, the ananauss^* (pine-apple), being among the most delicious of those reared in the island of the Frengueis (or Portuguese); of which fruit this same garden has been known in a season to have produced nearly one hundred thousand.

Of other fruits which it produced in sufficient abundance, there were grapes of the most esteemed and delicious kinds, several kinds of apples, apricots of Suliman and Abbas, and beh-alu (some kind of plum), together with a variety of other sorts of fruits brought from Kabul and the parts of the west, hitherto strangers to the climate of Hindûstaun, but now cultivated with abundant success. Here also was introduced the sandal tree, peculiar to the islands of Zeir, or Zubberbad (Qu.). With regard to the Hindûstauny fruits, they were in such multiplied variety as it would be tedious to enumerate. Of flowers there was every sort of the rose, and particularly the musk and damask rose, together with the jessamin and gûltchemeily, the latter the most esteemed of Indian flowers. In short, the flowers and flowering shrubs introduced into the Gûlafshaun garden were in such endless variety as to surpass all powers of description.

The citadel or castle of Agrah, as already intimated, was rebuilt by my father from the foundation altogether of red hewn stone, with four principal entrances and two sally ports. It was, in fact, a monument of his power, so perfect in execution that one might almost venture to say it was a fabric shaped by the architect of eternal destiny from a single rock. The workmanship alone was completed at the expense of not less than one hundred and eighty-six laks of ashrefies of five methkals each.^†

At the same time, emulating the example of their sovereign, every member of the court and subject of the empire, each according to his station, hastened to construct and lay out on the city and its environs mansions of the most sumptuous description, and the most beautiful gardens, so as to render the place altogether the object of universal delight and admiration. In very truth it is a wonderful city; and hence it is not surprising that in the esteem of mankind it has been placed on the same rank with Gualiar and Muttra, the latter the birth-place of Krishna, who m the Indian nations, in their ignorance, adore as the supreme being, and who, when they would speak in language of the highest praise, refer to these three places as surpassing all other cities in the known world.

I am here led to relate that at the city of Banaras a temple had been erected by Rajah Maun Sing, which cost him the sum of nearly thirty-six laks of five methkaly ashrefies.^* The principal idol in this temple had on its head a tiara or cap, enriched with jewels to the amount of three laks of ashrefies. He had placed in this temple moreover, as the associates and ministering servants of the principal idol,^† four other images of solid gold, each crowned with a tiara, in the like manner enriched with precious stones. It was the belief of these Jehennemites that a dead Hindû, provided when alive he had been a worshipper, when laid before this idol would be restored to life. As I could not possibly give credit to such a pretence, I employed a confidential person to ascertain the truth; and, as I justly supposed, the whole was detected to be an impudent imposture. Of this discovery I availed myself, and I made it my plea for throwing down the temple which was the scene of this imposture; and on the spot, with the very same materials, I erected the great mosque, because the very name of Isslâm was proscribed at Banaras, and with God’s blessing it is my design, if I live, to fill it full with true believers.

[Decisions Involving Impartiality and Justice]

On this subject I must however acknowledge, that having on one occasion asked my father the reason why he had forbidden any one to prevent or interfere with the building of these haunts of idolatry, his reply was in the following terms: “My dear child,” said he, “I find myself a puissant monarch, the shadow of God upon earth. I have seen that he bestows the blessings of his gracious providence upon all his creatures without distinction. Ill should I discharge the duties of my exalted station, were I to withhold my compassion and indulgence from any of those entrusted to my charge. With all of the human race, with all of God’s creatures, I am at peace: why then should I permit myself, under any consideration, to be the cause of molestation or aggression to any one? Besides, are not five parts in six of mankind either Hindûs or aliens to the faith; and were I to be governed by motives of the kind suggested in your inquiry, what alternative can I have but to put them all to death! I have thought it therefore my wisest plan to let these men alone. Neither is it to be forgotten, that the class of whom we are speaking, in common with the other inhabitants of Agrah, are usefully engaged, either in the pursuits of science or the arts, or of improvements for the benefit of mankind, and have in numerous instances arrived at the highest distinctions in the state, there being, indeed, to be found in this city men of every description, and of every religion on the face of the earth.”

I had been constrained to imprison my eldest son Khossrou in the upper part of the royal tower in the castle of Agrah; nevertheless, although I had received from him sufficient proof of his refractory and undutiful disposition, I continued to make him a visit in his prison regularly once a month, having assigned to him, moreover, for his subsistence, the monthly sum of three laks of ashrefies, with permission that his children should visit their father once every week.

Sâeid Khaun was one of the members hereditarily attached to the service of my father, and he had been promoted by me to the government of the Punjaub, and the command of the army of Lahour. On this occasion he had received from me an elephant and dress of honour, the latter from my own wardrobe, together with a girdle and khanjar, or kreisse, enriched with jewels, also a horse and caparison and jeighah (aigrette or ornament for the turban), the two latter richly set with precious stones. This chief was of a Moghûl tribe, and his ancestors had also been long in the service of mine. Soon after he had quitted my presence, however, and had proceeded some stages on his march, it was intimated to me by some of my people, that he had among his domestics men of a cruel and tyrannical disposition, notorious for courses of oppression in various ways towards the poor and those subject to their authority. Without a moment’s delay, I despatched Khaujah Saadek, the son of Mahommed Yaheya, to announce to him that as all mankind, both high and low, were equal in my contemplation, my love of justice did not permit me to overlook an act of oppression in any man. “Did the renown of Solomon surpass that of all the kings of the earth? He owed it all to the applause which he derived from his inflexible love of justice.” The messenger was accordingly charged to assure them, that if from that moment there occurred the slightest proof of arbitrary proceeding among his train, the punishment would be as exemplary as it would be unmitigating. The instant this message was communicated to him, he penned an obligation in writing, which he delivered to Khaujah Saadek, purporting that if on any occasion, either in himself or any of those employed under his authority, there arose the slightest ground for a charge of oppression or injustice, his head should be the forfeit. And the engagement, thus written, he forwarded by the same Khaujah to my presence.

In order to ensure for those noble animals the regular supply of grain and water, I appointed a foujdaur, or superintendent, to every division of one thousand elephants in my train. I shall here notice, that although the elephants subsisted under my government are more in number than can be readily counted, there are twelve thousand only of a size and temper to be employed against the ranks of an enemy in the field of battle. To these must be added one thousand of a smaller size, employed to supply the larger with forage and grain. Exclusive of these must be mentioned one hundred thousand required to carry the amharahs, or covered litters of the females of the imperial family, and otherwise in the conveyance of the imperial baggage, including the silver utensils, carpets, and other articles of equipage of different descriptions belonging to the imperial household. I only desire on this subject farther to remark, that this establishment of elephants was maintained at an annual expense of not less than four hundred and sixty laks of ashrefies,^* exclusively of what was incurred in looking after them, each separate animal requiring fifteen persons to provide for it, and a guard of one thousand men being posted at every station of a thousand elephants.

On this subject I shall add one more circumstance, and then dismiss it altogether. One day the foujdaur of one of my elephant stations reported to me that Sûltan Ahmed, the son of Ammaudy Hûsseyne Beg, had sold an elephant of the first quality to Shûkkour Allah Beg, the son of Zeyne Khaun Koukah, for the sum of sixty thousand ashrefies:^† on which information I at first determined that this Sûltan Ahmed should be thrown under the feet of an elephant and trampled to death; for by a particular regulation I had provided that no elephant of this prime description should be sold or purchased otherwise than for the use of the state. But feeling a repugnance to put any of God’s people to death on such an occasion, I endeavoured to palliate the offence, and observed that this person had done well, for that every man ought to be master of his own property; my object being to lay a restraint upon all communications of this description in my presence. I accordingly admonished the foujdaur as a detractor, and assured him that if ever he introduced such a subject again in my presence, he might expect the severest punishment in my power to inflict.

Sheikh Fereid, the Bokharian, who held the appointment of Meir Bukhshy under the authority of my father, I confirmed in his appointment, bestowing upon him, according to usage, an honorary dress and scimitar set with jewels. I added at the same time, for his encouragement, an expression of the high opinion which I entertained of his merit, by pronouncing him equally competent to wield either the pen or the sword. I also confirmed to Mokheim Khaun the title of Vezzeir Khaun, bestowed upon him by my father, with the functions of Vezzeir annexed to the title. I appointed Khaujeki Futtah-ullah to be steward of my household. To Abdurrezauk Maaonmoury (the architect), who had formerly deserted my service and sought my father’s protection, by whom he had been placed in the rank of Bukhshy, I assigned the same rank in my armies, giving him at the same time a khellaut (pellise) or dress of honour. In short, whether within the household or without, I not only permitted those who held places of trust or dignity about my father’s court to retain their appointments, but to all, according to their respective degrees, gave advancement in rank and station.

Upon Sherreif Khaun, the son of Abdulhamid Messower (the portrait painter) who had grown up with me from infancy to manhood, and to whom, while yet but heir apparent, I had already given the title of Khaun, I conferred the dignity of Ameir-ul-Oomra, or premier grandee of the empire. And this entirely in consideration of his devoted attachment to my person, which is of that exalted degree, that I know not whether to esteem him most as a brother, friend, or son, or companion and inseparable associate: nay, I do not know but that I consider him as dear to me as one of the members of my own body. Upon the whole, as far as I am capable of judging, there is not to be found, in all the armies of this mighty empire, his equal, either in talent or experience; and yet I most solemnly aver, that although it has often been with me the subject of deep reflection, I have never been able to devise any title, station, or dignity that could be at all adequate to the opinion which I entertain of his exalted merit. It is however to be observed, that while my father reigned, it was the rule never to promote the greatest Ameirs beyond the command of five thousand, because it is to be apprehended the man who sees at his back a numerous body of warriors, and any deficiency in that respect on the part of his sovereign, seldom fails to play the traitor, and to involve himself in the mazes of rebellion. This rule of my father’s government I considered it expedient to maintain, and I accordingly limited his promotion to the command of five thousand only. Nevertheless, I am still persuaded that the commanding of five thousand is far short of what is due to the dignity of Ameir-ul-Oomra, a premier grandee of the empire. I have apprized him that all that belongs to me is at his disposal; and as to rank, he has limited his ambition to whatever in the spirit of kindness I may think proper to bestow upon him. More than this, he has frequently assured me, that while he is before the world, that is, engaged in public life, he would never accept from me of any rank beyond that of five thousand: to which I have yielded my reluctant assent.

While I am on this subject I must further relate, that at the crisis of my return from Allahabad to the province of my father, of which hereafter, among the several Ameirs who accompanied me of whose fidelity I felt most assured, Sherreif Khaun was the man. And sixteen days after my accession, when he came to offer me his pledge of services, I can with a safe conscience aver, that the same day on which he thus made his appearance in my presence, God Almighty bestowed upon me a renewal of life, and I felt at the moment convinced that the eye of his providence was upon me. I felt indeed an assurance that, possessing the attachment of the Ameir-ul-Oomra alone, I was in very truth the sovereign of my people: for although at the time not exactly aware of any circumstances of doubt or danger, there was this conviction, that at the risk of life itself, Sherreif Khaun would be my defender. God is, indeed, equally the protector of all his creatures: yet is the possession of self-knowledge, of all things, to sovereigns the most indispensable. Such, at all events, I know to be the zeal and purity of the Ameir-ul-Oomra’s attachment towards me, that when at last I dismissed him to the government of Bengal, over which I invested him with paramount authority, and confirmed to him his rank of five thousand, together with the great drum and standard, the day on which he was finally removed from my presence was one of the blackest of my life. I shall dwell no further on this subject than to add, that the father of Sherreif Khaun was a native of Shirâz, and his grandfather was Nizam-ul-Moulk, the Vezzeir of Shah Shuja, the sovereign of that state. His father was admitted to the intimate society of my grandfather Homayûn, and held, moreover, some of the highest dignities about the court of my father, being by the mother’s side a sherreif, or descendant from the Prophet. An account of all these circumstances will, however, be found at large in the Zuffernâmah and Mûtlaa-ul-Saadein.

Certain considerations, nevertheless, prevailed with me some time afterwards to reinstate the Rajah Maun Sing in the government of Bengal, although he could himself have entertained no expectations of such a favour at my hands. I conferred upon him at the same time an honorary dress, or pellise, and a scimitar set with jewels, together with the horse Koukpárah, the best in my thousand-ashref horse stables. The first of the Râjpoot chieftains who became attached to the government of my father Akbar was Bharmul, the grandfather of this Rajah Maun Sing, and pre-eminent in his tribe for courage, fidelity, and truth. As a mark of distinguished favour, my father placed the daughter of Rajah Bharmul in his own palace, and finally espoused her to me. It was by this princess I had my son Khossrou. I was then only seventeen, and he is now twenty; and I trust that God Almighty may yet prolong his life to the age of one hundred and twenty: for as I have hitherto had every reason to be satisfied with his conduct, so also do I hope that it will always be such as to deserve the approbation of his God: certainly, to this day, I have not experienced aught at his hands but the strictest fidelity and attachment.^* My first child was, however, a sister of Khossrou’s by the same mother, and a year older than Khossrou.

[Government Affairs and Alliances]
  [Alliances Involving Family Relations]

After Khossrou, by the daughter of Sâeid Khaun, the son of Sultûn Saurung prince of Kashobar, I had a daughter, to whom we gave the name of Ouffet Baunee Begum. She died at the age of three years. Next to her, by Sauheb Jamaul, the neice of Zeyne Khaun Khoukah, I had a son born at Kabûl, on whom my father bestowed the name of Parveiz. Of him I pray God that he may live to the utmost limit of human life, since from the singular activity and ready zeal of his character I cherish of him the very highest expectations. The first servive on which I thought fit to employ him is one of a religious nature against the Râna (of Oudipour); and it is now the four-and-twentieth month since he was despatched. It is very gratifying to find that the Ameirs appointed to serve under his orders all express themselves entirely satisfied with his conduct. He has with him nearly twenty thousand cavalry, all furnished with three spare horses each.

Next by the daughter of Derya Komm, a powerful Rajah at the foot of the mountains of Lahour, I had a daughter born, to whom I gave the name of Doulut Nisha Begum, who died at the age of seven months. Then another daughter by Beiby Karmitty, of the family of Râey Pour, whom I named Bahar Baunu Begum: she lived only two months. Next by Juggut Gossâeine, the daughter of Rajah Oudi Sing, who was master of eighty thousand horse, and than whom among the Rajahs of Hind there were few more powerful, I had another daughter, who received the name of Begum Sûltaun, but who did not survive her twelve months. By Sauheb Jamaul, who was the daughter of the Rajah of Luknou, came also a daughter, who lived only seven days; and by the daughter of Moutah Rajah^† (Juggut Gossâeine) was born my son Khorroum.^‡ Possessed as he is of the brightest intellectual endowments, I cannot but hope, with the blessing of God, that in every virtue and good quality this my son may prove uninterruptedly progressive, as he is in all things conspicuously discreet. In attention to my father he exceeded all my children, and he was accordingly by him beloved beyond all others, my father repeatedly expressing to me, that such qualities as he discovered in him were not to be found in any other of my children. Perhaps being then the youngest of all, he might have appeared in the eyes of every one the loveliest.

After him, by the daughter of the prince of Kashmeir, who was of the society of Jouggies, I had another daughter, who died a year old. Then by Shâei Begum, the daughter of Ibrauhim Hûsseyne Mirza, who was the grandson by a daughter of Mirza Kamraun, I had another daughter, who died before she was eight months old. Again, by Sauheb Jamaul, the mother of Parveiz, I had another daughter, who died at the age of five months. After her, by Juggut Gossâeine, the mother of Khorroum, I had a daughter, to whom I gave the name of Luzzet-ul-Nissa Begum: she died, however, at the age of five years. Again, by the mother of Parveiz I had another son, to whom, at my accession to the throne, they gave the name of Jahaundar; and last of all, by the mother of Khorroum I had another son, who received the name of Sheheryaur: both of these were born in the same month.

Having by his matrimonial alliances, already indicated,^* considerably augmented his influence, Maun Sing obtained such a predominance in my father’s government, that he was permitted to reside alternately six months at court and six months at his jagueir. As a proof of the affluence of his resources it is sufficient to state, that whenever he repaired to my father’s presence, it seldom occurred that his compliment of homage did not amount to two laks of five mithkaly ashrefies;^† and so far did he outstrip all tha this grandfather, Bharmul, had attained to, that among the Rajahs of Hindustaun there is not one that can be put on a parrallel with Rajah Maun Sing.

Another circumstance which I consider not unworthy of relation is the following. Sâeid Khaun, the governor of the Punjaub, had written to me a shortish note, requesting that Ghauze Beg, the son of Mirza Jaun Beg, might be permitted to repair to him without delay, as he had just adopted him as a son. I informed him in reply, that my father Akbar had entered into preliminaries of a matrimonial alliance with the Ghauze Beg, by which his sister was betrothed to my son Khossrou, and as that contract was fulfilled he would be permitted to depart. I should explain that the Mirza Jaun, or Jauny Beg, here referred to, was the son of Fayendah Mahommed, the son of Mirza Bâky, the son of Mirza Aaby, son of Abdul Aaly Terkhan. This latter was prince of Bokhâra in the time of Sûltan Mirza, and long numbered among his vassals the celebrated Shâhy Beg Khaun, monarch of the Ouzbeks, and many of his kinsmen. Abdul Aaly Terkhan was, moreover, descended from Shukkee Beg Terkhan, who had this title conferred upon him while yet a child, by the invincible Teymûr, his father Eygou Teymûr having fallen in battle in the war with Toktemesh Khaun. They were of the race of Arghûn Khaun, and hence the title of Terkhan and Arghûn.

An application was conveyed to me in behalf of the son of Rajah Muksoud Khaun, the son of Mukhsous Khaun, so long engaged in the rebel transactions in Bengal and Bahâr. I caused it to be answered in reply, that as he could not well be in a state of mind to be quite satisfied with me, neither could I consider him a fit object for the goodness of God, nor for the countenance or encouragement of an earthly sovereign.

[Resolutions and Appointments]

Having instructed a commission of religious persons to arrange for me a collection of the simple names of God, as far as they could discover, they furnished me with a list of five hundred and twenty-two, exactly double the number of those contained in my royal father’s sacred rosary. They arranged these five hundred and twenty-two names under twenty numerical letters (abjed), which I caused to be inscribed (perhaps embroidered) in my mantle.^* The evening of Friday throughout the year I devoted invariably to the society of the learned, and of pious and virtuous men of every description. For a twelvemonth prior to my accession to sovereign power I had adopted a resolution, on that evening never, on any consideration, to taste either of wine or any intoxicating beverage whatever. I trust in Providence to enable me to abide by this resolution to the last moment of my existence, even to the awful day of universal reckoning. Hitherto the Almighty has given me grace to persevere in it, and may the same grace be continued to me for the remainder of my life.

I encouraged such individuals as were immediately in attendance about my person, whenever it was found that the stipend was inadequate to their station, and the circumstance should have escaped my own observation, to make known the deficiency to me, in order that the allowance might be respectively increased according to necessity. I gave orders that, until the period of mourning for my father should have expired, the people should abstain from every species of sustenance but that dew made use of by the Souffies. During the same period I also directed that in the celebration of marriage ceremonies, neither drum, nor trumpet, nor any other description of music should be employed in any part of the dominions subject to my authority, on pain of heavy displeasure.

While this ordinance was yet in force, a report was brought to me that a certain Hâkim Ally was celebrating the marriage of his son, and that in the entertainment which he was giving on the occasion, he had assembled at his house in the presence of the Kauzy the whole of a band of music belonging to Killidje Khaun, and that in fact the whole city resounded with the noise. I despatched Mahommed Tekky to remind him, that as his obligations to the bounty of my father were great, it might have been expected that he, beyond all other men, would have been overwhelmed with grief, shame, and sorrow: was this then the only period which he could find for the marriage of his son, and its noisy festivities? When the messenger appeared among them the party seemed absorbed in all the intoxication of mirth and jollity; but when the message was delivered, it was amusing to see the sudden change into confusion and dismay. Penetrated with remorse for such a proof of thoughtless levity, the same Hâkim Ally, as an atonement, brought me a chaplet of pearl of the value of a lak of rupees, of which at the moment I condescended to accept; but some days afterwards, sending for him to my presence, I threw the chaplet round his neck. It never could, in truth, afford me any real gratification to receive from any vassals gifts or presents in any shape: on the contrary, towards my hand should their eyes ever be turned; and so long as I retain the means, so long is it my part to bestow upon every one favour and rewards according to merit.

I bestowed upon Mahommed Khaun, now appointed to succeed to the government of the Punjaub, the donation of one lak of rupees, together with a costly dress, and a scimitar, belt, and dagger, all richly set with diamonds and other precious stones. This chief is of the family of the khauns of Ferrah. About the same time I despatched Mahommed Rezza with fifty thousand rupees, to be distributed among the poor and other inmates of the sacred or consecrated places at Dehly. I conferred the office of vezzeir of the empire upon Vezzeir Khaun, having, while yet only first prince of the blood, already bestowed upon him the title of Vezzeir-ul-Moulk, and advanced him from the command of five hundred to that of one thousand horse.

It is to be remembered that Sheikh Fereid Bokhaury was of the stock of Sheikh Jullaul, who was a distinguished disciple of Sheikh Behâ-ud-dein Zekkareiah of Multân. The ancestor in the fourth degree of Sheikh Fereid was Seyed Abdul Ghoffaur of Dehly; and this latter had bequeathed it to his children as an irrevocable charge, never to engage themselves as civil stipendiaries, but to devote their services entirely to the hazards of a military life. They are illustrious among the Seyeds of Bokhara. Sheikh Fereid had previously held the rank of four thousand, but I advanced him to that of five thousand, with the appendages of the great drum and standard.

To Mirza Rûstum, the son of Mirza Sûltan Hûsseyne, governor of Kandahâr; to Abdurrahim Khaun, who bears the title of Khaun Khanan, and who is the son of Beiram Khaun Kuzzelbaush (red cap);^* and to his two sons, Eiridje and Darab; and lastly, to Sheir Khojah, of the family of Mirza Ally Beg Akbar-shâhy, I transmitted respectively, suitable to their rank, the proper khelauts, or dresses of honour, together with baldrics and swords enriched with precious stones, and horses with caparisons enriched in the same manner.^* The son of Abdurrahman Vaeg, on the contrary, who had left his post without invitation, I ordered back in displeasure: for the best proof of zeal is obedience, not verbal profession.

Lâla Beg, the Kabûlite, had received from me, previous to my accession, the title of Bauz Bahauder; but about a month subsequent to my ascending the throne, coming to render homage to me, I raised him from the rank of one thousand to that of two thousand horse, and invested him in the government of Bahâr, presenting him at the same time with a donation of one lak of rupees; the feudatories of the provinces, of whatever rank, being publicly apprized that it was at the discretion of Bauz Bahauder to put any to death who disobeyed or resisted his authority. I provided moreover that his jaguir, or fee, should be of a higher value than that of any of his subordinates; for I could not but bear in mind that he belonged to that class of the soldiery most faithfully devoted to my family. His father, I must observe, bore the name of Nizam-e-kabaub,^† and he was Chirâghtchei, or conductor of the flambeaux, or lamplighter to my uncle.

To the only son of the deceased Mahommed Hakaim Mirza of Kabûl, who previously held the rank of five hundred, I now gave that of one thousand; and Kanûjen, a Raujpout Mahratta, distinguished beyond his equals for loyalty towards my person, I raised from the rank of eight hundred to that of fifteen hundred horses.

Meiran Suddur-ud-dein, who held the rank of three hundred only, I advanced to that of a thousand. This person was one of the oldest on the list of my father’s servants, and at the period when Sheikh Abdul Nebby was instructing me to read the forty traditions, was employed in the imperial library. In truth I can allege, that I ever looked upon him as my khalifah, or supreme pontiff. But in my father’s esteem no person held so lofty a place as my preceptor Abdul Nebby; unless it were, indeed, Mekhdoum-ul-Moulk, whose original name was Sheikh Abdullah, and who in science, good sense, and narrative eloquence, was without his equal in the age in which he lived. He was a man far advanced in years, and had in early life possessed unbounded influence with Sheir Khaun the Afghan, and his son Seleim Khaun. He was, moreover, unrivalled in his knowledge of the heavenly bodies: and yet his star did not brighten in the esteem of my father. In the end, Sheikh Abdul Nebby gained the advance.

When Hakim Hammaum was appointed on his embassy to Ma-wer-un-neher, (Transoxiana), Meiran Suddur Jahaun (the same referred to as Suddur-ud-dein) was despatched on the mission of condolence on the death of the father of Abdullah Khaun, monarch of the Ouzbeks. On his return after an absence of three years, my father thought fit to place him in a military station; and he was at different periods advanced to the rank or two thousand, and to the important trust of suddur, or grand almoner of the empire. I shall finally observe that, under whatever change of circumstance, Meiran Suddur Jahaun has always evinced an unabated zeal in his attachment to my interests; neither is he in any degree deficient in any of the qualities of true courage and virtue: and it might be truly said that his affection towards me was a sentiment implanted in his heart from his very cradle, so meritoriously has he ever discharged the claims of gratitude and true loyalty. When yet only prince royal, I had freely engaged either to advance him to any rank he might require, or to discharge for him any debts he might have contracted, to whatever amount. In fulfilment of such engagement, when placed by Omnipotence on the throne of Hindûstaun, I communicated to him accordingly, that I was prepared to make good my promise in either of the alternatives that he might determine upon. The bukhshies of my court announced to me in reply from the Suddur, that if the command of four thousand were conferred upon him, he would trust to his own resources for the liquidation of his debts.

In compliance with this request, although at variance with the rule which I had prescribed myself, never in the first instance to bestow a higher rank than that of one hundred, I created him a grandee of the class of four thousand. In truth, considering the heart as the genuine seat of true devotion, I esteem the securing to myself of one such faithful heart not inferior in merit to a thousand grand pilgrimages to the sacred cities. Neither would I neglect, so far as compliance rests within my power, to fulfil the just expectations of any man, without distinction of infidel or true believer. This age-stricken ruin of a world has survived hundreds of thousands such as I am; what then can be more desirable than to do something in the fleeting present, of the merit of which we may avail ourselves in an eternal hereafter? Even in this world, the advantages of a benevolent action, of gaining to ourselves the attachment of mankind, are beyond all price; and for my part, I should derive a greater satisfaction from rejoicing the heart of a single individual, than from leaving behind me jewels and gold by the horse-load, to be squandered by a profligate heir.

[Advices, Appointments and Regulations]

Remember, my son, that this world is no permanent possession. It offers no resting-place, either for reliance or hope. Hast thou not heard how in the chambers of the west, the throne of Solomon was delivered to the winds; of that Solomon the blessed of all generations. Thrice happy the man whose life has been passed in the practice of wisdom and justice, whose exertions have been directed to the repose of mankind; he bears away the honours of the course. The wise man’s care is devoted to the duties of his religion; but, whatever your pursuits, the world is slipping away. That alone is useful which you can carry to the grave, not that which you have hoarded, and must be left behind you. Let your business be to secure the approbation of the experienced, for though the huntsman has his skill, the old wolf has his cunning. Hast thou a contest with thine adversary, oppose him with thy bravest hearts; the tiger alone is competent to a conflict with the lion. Be not afraid of the young soldier, however sharp his sword; beware of the veteran, with his skill in battle often tried. The young man may have strength to wrestle with the lion and the elephant, but where is his experience in the guile of the year-worn fox? Man acquires prudence by seeing the world at large, byfeeling alternately the effects of heat and cold. Wouldst thou see thy country flourishing and happy, trust not an affair of importance to the discretion of an upstart. In a matter where there is peril employ none others than soldiers tried in many a battle. The true-bred hound quails not before the tiger; the fox will venture battle where the lion is unseen. Train up thy son in the exertion of the chase, and when the day of battle arrives he will subdue his fears. Even the bravest man, when wearied in the lap of indulgence, trembles when the approaches of battle are thrown open to him. Two men there are with whom we should not disgrace the back of the war-horse, and whom the hand of an infant would strike to the earth: one of whom in battle you have seen the back, and whom you should slay with the sword, if perchance he may have escaped that of the enemy. Better is the coward confessed, than the man of the sword who in the course of the conflict turns away his head like a woman.

Of Mirza Gheyauss Beg^* how shall I speak in terms of sufficient praise! With the office of high steward of the household he had enjoyed, under my father, the dignity of a grandee of one thousand; and I appointed him, some time after my accession, to the office of diwan or chancellor, in the room of Vezzeir Khaun, with the rank of seven thousand, the title of Ettemaud-ud-Doulah, and the insignia of the great drum and standard. In the science of arithmetic he is in this age without a rival; in composition and elegance of style he stands alone; in critical knowledge on every species of the poetry of former ages, and the facility with which he quotes from it, he has no competitor; and few are diwans, or collections of odes, which he has not preserved, and of which he has not transcribed the most beautiful and esteemed. But what is better in the proof than a thousand mûferra yakouties,^* the recitation is never made without a countenance beaming with smiles. I can only add, that in affairs of state, the measure which has not the confirmation of his counsels, has little chance, from the imperfection of its arrangements, to remain upon the record.

[Here follow five couplets in praise of the virtues of Ettemaud-ud-Doulah, which it would be tedious to insert.]

Ettemaud-ud-Doulah, it is almost superfluous to observe, is the father of my consort Nourjahaun Begum and of Assof Khan, whom I have appointed my lieutenant-general, with the rank of a commander of five thousand. On Nourjahaun, however, who is the superior of the four hundred inmates of my harram, I have conferred the rank of thirty thousand. In the whole empire there is scarcely a city in which this princess has not left some lofty structure, some spacious garden, as a splendid monument of her taste and munificence. As I had then no intention of marriage, she did not originally come into my family, but was betrothed in the time of my father to Sheer Afkunn; but when that chief was killed,^† I sent for the Kauzy, and contracted a regular marriage with her, assigning for her dowry the sum of eighty laks of ashrefies of five methkals,^‡ which sum she requested as indispensable for the purchase of jewels, and I granted it without a murmur. I presented her, moreover, with a necklace of pearl, containing forty beads, each of which had cost me separately the sum of forty thousand rupees.^§ At the period in which this is written, I may say that the whole concern of my household, whether gold or jewels, is under her sole and entire management.^ǁ Of my unreserved confidence, indeed, this princess is in entire possession, and I may allege without a fallacy, that the whole fortune of my empire has been consigned to the disposal of this highly endowed family; the father being my diwan, the son my lieutenant-general, with unlimited powers, and the daughter the inseparable companion of all my cares.

In the next place, I invested the son of Rajah Bikramajit, who bore the title of Râi Râyan, with the important appointment of master of ordnance, or superintendant of my department of artillery; and I directed that, independently of such as were distributed in various parts of my dominions, either in guns or gunners, there should, in this department, always be ready for service sixty thousand camel-mounted guns, each supplied with ten seirs of powder and twenty shot; and twenty thousand other pieces (perhaps of larger calibre) with every requisite equipment. To defray the expense of such an establishment altogether, I set apart fifteen purgunnahs or townships, yielding a revenue of one lak,^* or five daunky ashrefies. This equipment was to accompany the imperial camp whithersoever it moved.

The Râi Râyan had for some time held the appointment of Diwan under my father Akbar, and is one of his oldest dependents; he is now far advanced in years, and in proportion possessed of the most extensive experience, not less in the regulations of civil policy than in the management of martial discipline, on which he may be said to be master of the six parts complete. Together with his experience, he accumulated under my father treasure to an immense amount, in gold; so great, indeed, that even among the Hindûs of his class he has not his equal in wealth, since he is known, at the period in which I am writing, to have at a time, in the hands of certain merchants of his caste in the city, no less than ten krours of ashrefies.^† From the superintendence of the elephant department, he is now advanced to the dignity of Vezzeir-ul-Oomra.

I availed myself of an opportunity to promote Seyed Kammaul, the son of Seyed Chaund the Bokhârian, from the command of seven hundred to that of one thousand, and assigning for his jaguir the city of Dehly, the metropolis of the ancient monarchs of Hindûstaun. The father of Seyed Kammaul had been killed at Peishawer, in the war with the Afghans. I further advanced Mirza Khorrem, the son of Kherun-e-Azzem, from the rank of two thousand to that of three thousand horse.

In the practice of being burnt on the funeral pyre of their husbands, as sometimes exhibited among the widows of the Hindûs, I had previously directed, that no woman who was the mother of children should be thus made a sacrifice, however willing to die; and I now further ordained, that in no case was the practice to be permitted, when compulsion was in the slightest degree employed, whatever might be the opinions of the people. In other respects they were in no wise to be molested in the duties of their religion, nor exposed to oppression or violence in any manner whatever. For when I consider that the Almighty has constituted me the shadow of his beneficence on earth, and that his gracious providence is equally extended to all existence, it would but ill accord with the character thus bestowed, to contemplate for an instant the butchery of nearly a whole people; for of the whole population of Hindûstaun, it is notorious that five parts in six are composed of Hindûs,^* the adorers of images, and the whole concerns of trade and manufactures, weaving, and other industrious and lucrative pursuits, are entirely under the management of these classes. Were it, therefore, ever so much my desire to convert them to the true faith, it would be impossible, otherwise than through the excision of millions of men. Attached as they thus are to their religion, such as it is, they will be snared in the web of their own inventions: they cannot escape the retribution prepared for them; but the massacre of a whole people can never be any business of mine.

Among other regulations of minor importance, I directed, that when any individual of a respectable class in the service of the state was desirous of visiting the country of his birth, application should be made through Sheikh Fereid, the Meir Bukhshy, when permission would be given without difficulty.

It had been usual to send the patents of jaguir in vermillion. I directed that for the future this should be done in gold.

I conferred upon Vezzeir Khaun the appointment of Diwan, or comptroller of finance in Bengal, with unlimited authority; and I despatched him into that province, for the purpose of investigating the state of the revenue, of which for ten years past no correct account had been received.

Mirza Sûltân, the son of Mirza Shahrokh, prince of Badakhshaun, being the most accomplished of the children of his father, I ever considered as a son of my own, and as such placed him under the care of the Ameer-ul-Oomrah, as the highest in rank in the empire. I referred the claims of Mirza Shemsy, the son of Khaun-e-Azzem, with instructions to investigate the truth, to Bauz Bahauder. To gratify the wishes of his father, I bestowed the rank of a grandee of fifteen hundred on Bhaou Sing, the son of Rajah Maun Sing. He was the only surviving son, although the latter is known to have had by his fifteen hundred wives not less than two and three children each, all of whom died except this one: neither was he possessed of sufficient ability to qualify him to be his father’s successor. Nevertheless, in this instance, I was induced to promote him. He was a commander of five hundred in the court of my father.

Zemaunah Beg, the son of Ghour Beg the Kabûlite, had been in my service from childhood, and previous to my accession had received from me the rank of five hundred; I now bestowed upon him the title of Mohaubet Khaun, with the rank of fifteen hundred, and the appointment of Vezzeir of the Shagird Beishah, provost of the apprentices, perhaps director of the manufactures. I also gave to Zeya-ud-dein the Kazvinian the rank of one thousand.

For distribution among my cavalry and other retainers I directed Bikkendas, the keeper of the stables, to bring into my presence two hundred horses every day; for it were a thousand pities to have in my retinue any number of horses, either lame or worn down by age or hard labour.

On the 11th day of the month of Shabaun, of the year one thousand and nineteen,^* I bestowed the daughter of Mirza Rûstam, the grandson of Behram Mirza, upon my favourite son Parveiz, with a marriage portion of one lak of ashrefies.^† At the entertainment given on the occasion, the richest and most splendid dresses were distributed to the Ameirs and others permitted to be present, and nearly one hundred maunns Hindy of frankincense, sandal, musk, ambergris, and other aromatic drugs, were consumed during the ceremony. The consumption in other articles may be estimated from this statement. On the evening on which the bride was brought to the palace, I presented her with a necklace of sixty pearls, for each single pearl of which my father had paid the sum of ten thousand rupees.^‡ I also presented them with a ruby of the value of two laks and fifty thousand rupees, equivalent to seven thousand tomauns of Irâk;^§ and I finally assigned for her expenses the annual sum of three laks of rupees, and for the establishment of her household one hundred maidens from Surat, who were devoted to her service.

I promoted Mirza Ally Akbar Shâhy to the rank of four thousand, and sent him to command on the frontiers of Kashmeir, giving him at the same time an enaum or premium of one lak of rupees, together with a valuable charger and saddle set with jewels, enriched girdle and dagger, and a jeighah, or aigrette, for the turban.

Bauker Khaun Nûdjûm Sâni, who held under my father the humble rank of a command of three hundred only, I advanced by degrees to the dignity of two thousand, and finally invested him with the government of Mûltan, assigning to him the foujdaury, or military command on the river Ally Khan, and over the districts in that quarter. More than this, I destined the sister’s child as Nourjahaun Begum for his bride, giving him the appellation of son, which I caused to be inserted in the patent for his appointment. In his profession of a soldier he is most distinguished for courage and intrepidity, and I have it in mind to avail myself of every opportunity to advance him in rank and dignity.

With a gratuity of three thousand rupees I committed to Rana Sing the superintendance of my father’s tomb, which is three kôsse to the westward of the city of Agrah;^* my Ameirs, of whatever degree, being enjoined on coming to court, first of all to offer homage on that consecrated spot, after which only they would be permitted to do the same in my presence.

Upon receiving a hint one day from the Ameir-ul-Oomra, which concurred most exactly with the suggestions of my own mind, I established as a rule, that no one was to be entrusted with the transaction of any concern of my government until his qualifications were first tried by the touchstone of experience, in order to form something like an estimate how far in his hands it was likely to be brought to a favourable issue. A matter of importance can, indeed, never be expected to succeed in the hands of a blockhead; and to engage a man of ability in the transaction of a trifle, would be to let fly a hawk against a mosquito. Without some considerations of this nature the business of any state must soon fall into confusion; and the welfare and regularity of every government must always greatly depend upon the character of those who are retained about the person of the sovereign. [Here follow four couplets so perversely transcribed as be scarcely legible].

[Samarkand Affair and Resulting Alliances]

At the period at which I am writing, information reached me that Samarkand, lately under the authority of Bauky Khaun the Ouzbek, had devolved to a chief of the name of Wally Khâun, and as it was the outset of his power, I conceived it possible that he might have placed himself in a position of hostility towards me. In that case I had at first determined to send my son Parveiz to oppose him, with the design at a future period for once at least to proceed, God willing, in person into Ma-wer-un-neher (Transoxiana), that is after I should have accomplished my plans for invading the Dekkan, or south of India. For I had had it long in contemplation to advance the standard of victory into the provinces in that quarter, and having there brought my designs to a successful issue, then to conduct my triumphant legions towards Samarkand. This inclination I derived from my father, who had always cherished a longing for the inheritance of his ancestors; but aware of the impolicy of leaving India unfurnished with troops to the discretion of any son, I resolved to employ Parveiz once more against the Râna of Oudipour, assigning that country in jaguir to him; those of Mûltan and Agrah being transferred to others. Thus, should it please God to give me complete relief from my anxieties on this head, I might be at liberty this same year to bend my course into the Dekkan; or should the Râna, misled by his evil destiny, still continue refractory, the same force assembled under my immediate authority, might be promptly employed to destroy him root and branch.

Among the Ameirs whom I detached under the orders of Parveiz the most distinguished was Assof Khaun, who had been the vezzeir of my father, and whom I now raised to the order of five thousand, with the insignia of the standard and great drum, or naggarah. He received at the same time a scimitar enriched with diamonds, a war elephant, and a charger with enriched caparisons. I devolved to him on this occasion the appointment of atabek, or governor, to my son. Assof Khaun bore originally the name of Jauffer Beg, and was a native of Kazvein, the son of Baddeia-uz-zemman, who was the son of Aga Bellaul, who was enrolled among the vezzeirs of the departed Shah Tahmasp (of Persia). The title of Assof Khaun was conferred upon him by my father, to whom he was first of all Meir Bukhshy; but from his extraordinary talents and experience, he became soon advanced to the dignity of vezzeir, an office which for two years he held with unlimited powers. Pre-eminent in intellectual endowments and acuteness of sagacity, I raised him from the class of vezzeirs to that of ameir. On the occasion I issued strict injunctions to all the functionaries, of whatever class or degree, to abide without demur or deviation by his decisions, which I was assured would ever be governed by the purest principles of zeal and integrity.

At the same time I sent to Shahzadah Parveiz a chaplet of pearl of the value of five laks of rupees, with instructions to build in the Râna’s territory a city equal to Banaras, to which he was to give the name of Parvizabád. I appointed Abdurrezzak Maammoury (the architect), with the rank of one thousand, to the office of Bukhshy to the Shahzadah, permitting Mokhtaur Beg, the uncle of Assof Khaun, who held the rank of commander of eight hundred horse, to accompany the prince my son. To Sheikh Rokn-ud-dein the Afghan, I had given the title of Sheir Khaun, previous to my accession to the throne; and I here only desire to remark that he was a man of undoubted courage, but happening to engage in the service of some of the Kashmirian chiefs, he became strongly addicted to habits of drinking, although, nevertheless, a man of singular and the soundest discretion.

I shall here record the elevation by me to the dignity of a commander of two thousand horse, of Sheikh Abdurrahman, the son of Abûl Fazzel, although the father was well known to me as a man of profligate principles. For towards the close of my father’s reign, availing himself of the influence which by some means or other he had acquired, he so wrought upon the mind of his master, as to instil into him the belief that the seal and asylum of prophecy, to whom the devotion of a thousand lives such as mine would be a sacrifice too inadequate to speak of, was no more to be thought of than as an Arab of singular eloquence, and that the sacred inspirations recorded in the Korân were nothing else but fabrications invented by the ever-blessed Mahommed. Actuated by these reasons it was that I employed the man who killed Abûl Fazzel and brought his head to me, and for this it was that I incurred my father’s deep displeasure.^* Hence also it was that I solemnly appealed to the Prophet’s sacred name, and ventured to proclaim that, with his assistance, I should still make my way good to the throne of Hindûstaun. I am compelled to add, that under the influence of his displeasure on this occasion, my father gave to my son Khossrou, over me, every advantage of rank and favour, explicitly declaring that after him Khossrou should be king. Sheikh Saadi has long since pronounced, “God will dispose of him whom he has destined to take away, though the atheist may himself pretend to shroud the body.” In the end, the Almighty brought his purposes to a consummation. After the death of Abûl Fazzel, however, my father became impressed with other notions, and returning again a little into the right way, shewed himself once more an orthodox believer.

To the dignity of a commander of two thousand I also raised Zauhed Khaun, the son of Saadek Mahommed Khaun, the vezzeir of Kara Khaun the Tûrkmaun. Under the authority of my father this person had discharged the duties of general of artillery, and at the seige of Asseire, had eminently distinguished himself by his activity and skill, which were indeed the grounds for his present advancement. I presented him at the same time with bûzûrg audem,^† and a donation of thirty thousand rupees.

I should mention, in passing, that Râi Mûnnouher, of the Hindû tribe of Ketchwa, was a person on whom, in early youth, my father had bestowed numerous marks of kindness, and with whom he was accustomed to converse in Persian. He is indeed a man possessed of extensive general knowledge, and still established in the service of the monarchy. He has on some occasions given proofs of a turn for the poetry of Arabia of no mean merit. One stanza of his contains the following sentiment: “Wouldst thou learn the object of the rich pelisse? it is this—no one shall put out his feet in the presence of the lion.” In this tribe, however, we must not look for brilliancy of imagination.

Pahar Khaun was a dignitary of two thousand, and the uncle of Râjah Maun Sing. He was a man inclined to habits of retirement, although by no means deficient in military talent and the art of war. One of his sisters was in my father’s harram, but no favourite with destiny, although possessed of uncommon beauty. The proverb says: “If there be any auspicious destiny it is for the ill-favoured, for from all I can observe in this workshop of creation, scarcely any thing appears in its proper place. The poor in spirit are absorbed in the rigours of abstinence, while those who love the world find their fortune ever on the advance.”

Doulet Khaun, again, was the chief of the eunuchs of my father’s seraglio, and obtained in this employment the title of Nazzir-ud-Doulah (regulator of the state). Of this man I will venture to say, that in the receipt of bribes, and his disregard of every principle of duty, there was not his second in the empire. In specie alone, he left at his death no less a sum than ten krour of ashrefies of five methkals,^* exclusive of jewels, and gold and silver plate, china-ware, and utensils of brass and copper, to the value of three krour more; the whole of which became an accession to my father’s treasury.

Zuffer Khaun is the son of Zeyne Khaun Koukah, on whom my father had bestowed a multiplicity of favours, and whom, as well as Khaun-e-Azzem, he regarded as a son, although the latter did rank far higher in his esteem than either. Zuffer Khaun is however a man of excellent understanding, and I have ever entertained from his zeal and ability the very highest expectations. He inherits indeed his father’s acuteness. There are few that can stand a competition with him in rapidity of perception, which is such, that in a flight of pigeons he will at a single glance state their number, without making one either more or less. With all this he possesses considerable skill in the music of the Hindûs; and he is an incomparable soldier.

[Other Rebel Affairs and Related Alliances]

Among other objects which I accomplished about this period was the suppression of a tribe of robbers called Fehndiah, who had long infested the roads about Agrah, and whom getting into my power, I caused to be trampled to death by elephants.

Râi Durgah, a dignitary of seven hundred at my accession, and a man of the highest courage, signalized in many a conflict, although now far stricken in years, I advanced to the order of one thousand, bestowing upon him, at the same time, the donation of a lak of rupees. I also raised Mokheim Khaun, the son of Shûjayet Khaun, from the order of seven hundred to that of one thousand horse. The father, Shûjayet Khaun, was one of my father’s most distinguished Ameirs; and I well remember receiving my father’s orders, while yet a youth, to take my lessons in archery under his tuition. Under these considerations I now made him an Ameir of five thousand, with the insignia of the drum and standard.

A certain Roup Khawauss, after seducing from their duty one hundred and twenty of my father’s slaves (qu. guards) had absconded; but was again taken at the discomfiture of Himmetpour. He was a man of the greatest courage, but an incorrigible drunkard. Add to this, he had never in the whole course of his life, once kept the fast of Ramzân nor uttered a prayer. For all this, I pardoned his guilt and spared his life.

Shahbauz Khaun again, although a fellow taken from the common bazar, an obscure market-man, nevertheless possessed the capacity of being extensively useful. Foul-mouthed and scurrilous as he was, even in the presence of my father, he received from him the first dignity of a grandee of five thousand. He understood, however, the Turkish language, and was well acquainted with the maxims of military discipline. Nevertheless, when front to front with the enemy, the terrors of the conflict were more than he could stand: I therefore removed him from the order of five thousand, and appointed him chief huntsman, with the rank of two hundred only.

Furthermore, to the different Munsebdaurs or functionaries, from the rank of five hundred downwards to the ohedy, or private horseman, such as are furnished with four horses each, I allotted to every one an augmentation of stipend according to circumstances of rank and merit. I also directed that thirty thousand of the ohedies should be always in attendance on the imperial stirrup, for the purpose of furnishing the nightly guards, in conformity with the established regulations of my court.

Mirza Shah Rokh, prince of Badakhshaun, the grandson of Mirza Sûliman, and my own relative, had attained under my father’s authority to the rank of a commander of five thousand horse, and him I now advanced to the dignity of a grandee of the order of seven thousand, although somewhat at variance with the rule which dictated, that no Turk should rise beyond the rank of five thousand. Shah Rokh was a man of great simplicity of mind, highly esteemed by my father, who permitted to him, in common with his own sons, the indulgence of being seated in his presence. So much, indeed, did he partake in the simplicity natural to the Tartar race, that although he had lived in India for a period of twenty years, he could never accomplish the enunciation of one word in Hindûstauny. In the whole world, perhaps, there does not exist a race of men more notorious for their disregard of truth than the natives of Badakhshaun, although by no means deficient in intellect; but no one would have taken Shah Rokh for a Badakhshy, to whom he did not bear the slightest resemblance.

Notwithstanding the indulgence in which he had so largely partaken, it was the misfortune of this prince, through the seduction of Meir Allâi-ud-deen the Badakhshanian, to incur the displeasure of my father, in consequence of which he had been sent towards Kabûl in custody of Khaujah Abdullah the Kabûlite. There happened at this period to be imprisoned in that city about four hundred individuals, taken in arms against their sovereign, and orders were despatched by the same opportunity, after proper admonition, and an oath never more to violate their allegiance, to set them at large, and conduct them to the metropolis of the empire. Without consulting Khaujah Abdullah, who was proceeding, as he well knew, to the same destination, this Allâi-ud-deen contrived to persuade the feudatories of the station that the instructions were to furnish these prisoners with arms and horses, and even with khelaats, and that he was employed to conduct them to the capital.

Unsuspicious of any perfidious design, the governor of Kabûl yielded to these insidious representations, and issued his warrant for the supply of the four hundred prisoners with arms and every necessary military equipment, as well as honorary dresses. On which these traitors, uniting themselves with Meir Allâi-ud-deen, before the governor could be made aware of their intentions, fell upon the city, and commenced an indiscriminate plunder of the bankers’ shops and bazars, and with all they could lay hands on hastily withdrew through the city gates, and made the best of their way towards Badakhshaun. Nevertheless some years afterwards, although, after being admitted into the order of two thousand, he could thus absurdly as well as basely, and without the slightest grievance to complain of, violate his allegiance, when, after enduring every species of privation and wretchedness, he conveyed himself to my presence, and I demanded of him with what face he could venture to appear before me after such an act of perfidy and ingratitude towards my father, he replied in such terms of humiliation and contrition, that, notwithstanding such experience of his falsehood, I could not, in compassion to his misfortunes, withhold myself from restoring this Allâi-ud-deen to the appointments which he held under my father, and advancing him, moreover, from the order of two thousand to that of two thousand five hundred. In this I was supported by the opinion of my Ameir-ul-Oomra, who referring to this man’s distinguished courage as a soldier, urged the danger and inexpediency of discarding him for ever for a single offence, taking into consideration that for such offence he had already been the victim of so much suffering.

I may here observe, that at the moment I am writing, there are enrolled in my service not less than one hundred and fifty thousand Ouzbek cavalry, from the rank or order of one hundred downwards to the private horseman. Nevertheless I am constrained to remark, that however brave in battle, they are very easily prevailed upon to desert their employers.

Some time previous to my accession, I had conferred upon Sheikh Hussun Bulnâr the title of Mokurreb Khaun; and this person it was that I selected to proceed into the Dekkan to the camp of the Khaun Khanan, in order to bring away the children of my deceased brother Danial; for which purpose he received from me the best instructions I could devise, to be communicated to that minister. The commission thus entrusted to him, he finally executed with eminent ability, bringing away my brother’s family and effects to a prodigious amount: the jewels alone being estimated at the value of nearly five krour of five methkaly ashrefies,^* with two krour of the same currency in treasure.^† He had at the same time two hundred elephants of the largest size, and nearly two thousand Persian horses in his stables. In justice I cannot omit to add, that as a servant the merit of Mokurreb Khaun is of the very highest order, and few are the sovereigns who possess his equal. In fine, I raised him to the dignity of an Ameir of five thousand horse, with the insignia of the great drum and standard, presenting him, at the same time, with a scimitar (shemsheir) set with diamonds, a charger with enriched caparison, a jewelled aigrette, a sumptuous honorary dress, and a trained elephant. It was on this occasion also that I conferred upon him the government of Gujerat.

Another whom I thought fit to elevate to the order of two thousand horse was Nekkeib Khaun, who bore originally the name of Ennayet-ul-Remly. He received his title of Nekkeib Khaun from my father, and was of the Seyeds of Kazvein. In other respects he was so extensively gifted in the knowledge of history, that however remote the points on which information was required, he gave it with as much facility as if consulted on the very spot, so unbounded were his powers of memory. He has completed seven volumes on historical subjects, and it must be confessed that in this branch of literature he is without a rival, and it might be justly said that of all creation there is no earthly monarch who possesses one like him. I shall lastly observe, that in early youth I studied for a short time under his tuition.^‡

On the seventh day of the month of Shabaun (year not mentioned) Ramjee and Butcharam, and Seyam, the sons of Bugwandas, who was the uncle of Rajah Maun Sing, received the rewards of their perfidious deeds, having their heads crushed under the feet of my elephants, and being thus despatched to the hell prepared for them. Ramjee in particular was an idle and mischievous babbler, who when his kinsman Pahar Sing, the son of Rajah Maun Sing, was raised to the order of two thousand at Allahabad, succeeded, with heartless officiousness, in persuading that unfortunate person to bring disgrace upon himself; and he was beginning to give effect to his malignant proceedings when he received the just compensation of his evil deeds.

Eiltcha Ram, another of the tribe, becoming alarmed at the execution of these men, was beginning also to exhibit some suspicious movements, with the same heartless indifference to consequences, when I consigned him to the custody of Mahommed Amein, the kroury (or collector) of Bengal, with injunctions to watch over him with the strictest vigilance. The father of Mahommed Amein, by the way, was one of the Seyeds Termed. He was instructed at the same time, that on his arrival in Bengal he was to place this man under the care of Rajah Maun Sing. With the greatest simplicity, after securing his hands and feet, this officer puts his prisoner into a common hackery, or covered bullock carriage, and thinking all sufficiently secure, proceeded with him, without any further precautions, on the way to Bengal. Between Serrâctaal and Ghazipour, about midnight one evening, when all were asleep, the prisoner watches his opportunity, and effects his escape, with the notorious design of joining the Rana. However, as this could not be accomplished without some noise, Mahommed Amein became apprised of the circumstance, and instantly proceeded in pursuit of the fugitive. The latter coming by accident to a part of the Jumnah where there was no ferry-boat, boldly plunges into the river, and gains the opposite bank in safety. But here his career terminates: he is laid hold of by some of the country people, and bound with ropes until the arrival of Mahommed Amein, to whom he is once more safely delivered up.

Mahommed Amein, upon this, transmits a despatch to my presence, announcing that he was again master of the person of his prisoner, whose design had been, as he alleged, to join the Rana, and requesting my further orders. I sent to acquaint him in reply, that if there were among the Hindûs of the Rajpout tribes any individuals willing to be his securities, I was disposed to pardon and give him a jaguir. Finding, however, probably from the notorious turbulence of his disposition, that no one would venture to become security for him, I consulted with the Ameir-ul-Oomra as to what, under such circumstances, ought to be done; for, if suffered to escape, such confusion might arise as it would be difficult to control, considering that the Rajpouts were in the country more numerous than cats and dogs. The Ameir-ul-Oomra stated, that to him there occurred only two alternatives, either to place him in the custody of some confidential individual, who would engage for his safe keeping, or at once to confine him in the fortress of Gualiar. Things came to this crisis, when Ibrauhim Gaugur, who had received the title of Dillawer Khaun, and Hausham Monguly, who had received that of Shahnowauz Khaun, both armed themselves, and putting their followers in order, prepared to rescue this Eiltcha Ram from the hands of Mahommed Amein, and carry him off to the enemy.

[Defense Buildups, Rewards and Punishments]

With these perplexing circumstances in mind, I secretly placed in readiness, in addition to those immediately about my person, a body of four thousand horse and two thousand touptchies, or matchlockmen, with orders, in case of any attempt against my personal security, to throw themselves upon the assailants, of whatever cast, and use their utmost efforts to prevent the rescue of Eiltcha Ram. Mahommed Amein was directed to keep fast his prisoner to the last extremity. In the interim Nowauzesh Khaun hastily entered, and announced to the Ameir-ul-Oomra that the rescue of Eiltcha had been actually effected, and that Mahommed Amein had been compelled to take post near the jeil, or lake, among the sebzah (green fields, or perhaps, grassy reeds) surrounding the lake. This report was communicated to me by the Ameir-ul-Oomra in a whisper. The tumult was now approaching with accumulated violence towards the foot of the royal tower of the castle of Agrah, and I intimated to the minister, that things appeared to have reached that crisis, beyond which it would be a crime to be longer idle. “Go then,” said I, “with the soldiers under your orders, and render to these miscreants the reward of their treason.” The Ameir-ul-Oomra accordingly led out his troops, and soon engaged with the insurgents. I next addressed myself to Sheikh Fereid the Bukhshy, observing to him, that I had not a doubt the insurgents would be immediately joined by all the Rajpouts in the neighbourhood, which would materially add to our danger; I therefore charged him to call out his followers, and hasten without delay to the support of the Ameir-ul-Oomra.

On the departure of Sheikh Fereid, the noise and tumult of the conflict became louder and louder, and I ascended to the upper works of the royal tower, where I gave audience to the people, and I thence observed the combatants hotly engaged; not less than twenty thousand of the Rajpout cavalry having joined the insurgents, and all of them now pressing furiously, sword and dagger in hand, upon the troops under the Ameir-ul-Oomra; while the latter, with all the skill of which he was master, was thus making head against the enemy. Kuttoub Khaun, one of the bravest and most useful of his retainers, together with many other gallant men, fell before my eyes by the swords of the insurgents, and a far greater number wounded. Dillawer Khaun,^* who with others had charged the assailants to the assistance of Kuttoub Khaun, was dragged from his horse and sabred, all who accompanied him sharing the same fate. Joined by a reinforcement of three thousand men, the which I dispatched to his support, the Ameer-ul-Oomra again bravely charged his assailants, and put a considerable number of the Rajpouts to the sword.

At such a moment, Sheikh Fereid, with ten thousand horse in quilted mail, and five thousand camel-mounted musqueteers, armed and in complete array, arrived to the support of the minister, and gave instant check to the fury of the Rajpouts. While the conflict thus continued with protracted violence, a single Rajpout approached sword in hand to make an attack upon Sheikh Fereid, who stood in advance under one of the standards. Seizing a javelin from one of his attendants, the sheikh passed it with such irresistible force through the breast of the Rajpout, that the point appeared clean at his back, which of course sent the miscreant on his way to hell. The superior prowess of the imperial troops was now apparent, and great numbers of the Rajpouts were put to the sword; those who escaped the slaughter betook themselves to flight in the utmost confusion. Of these, however, about four thousand were made prisoners, all of whom, as an example to other wretches who might be disposed to follow in their steps, were, by my command, trampled to death by elephants. At the same time, as a living example, to deter the turbulent and factious from engaging in such tortuous and disloyal designs, I directed the ringleader, whose name was Bukhta Ram, to be closely confined in the fortress of Gualiar.

It was on this occasion that Bahauder Khaun, an Ouzbek chief, ventured to make the remark, that if such an instance of rebellion had occurred under the authority of one of the sovereigns of his country, the whole tribe in all its branches would have been cut off from the face of the earth. To this I replied, that I could not forget, that from my father, in whose armies they served, these Rajpouts had received unbounded indulgence, and enjoyed distinctions far beyond their equals of other tribes; and, in consequence of the preference thus shewn them, it might have been that they were led to conceive themselves of a superior class. Neither could I consider it consistent with substantial justice, for the offence of a few misguided individuals, to extirpate a whole tribe, since, for every purpose of example, it was quite sufficient to punish the actually guilty.

I shall now return to the more grateful subject of recording the rewards and advancements bestowed upon the more faithful adherents of my government. I promoted Kauzy Abdullah the Kabûlite from the order of five hundred to that of five thousand; and on Khanjah Zakareia, the son of Khaujah Mahommed Yaheya, although in disgrace, I conferred the rank of five hundred. This I was induced to do on the recommendation of the venerated Sheikh Hûsseyne Jaumy, distinguished in our age for the unblemished purity of his life. Six months previous to my accession, I had received an arrezdasht (or memorial) from the Sheikh, stating that he had recently had it revealed to him in a dream, that, to a moral certainty, the Most High would make me, in spite of all opposition, sovereign of Hindûstaun: on the occurrence of which event he should venture to solicit that for his sake, who had thus early predicted my exaltation, I would forgive the offences of the son of Khaujah Yaheya; and it was for this reason that I both pardoned and promoted the man.

On Taush Khaun Beg, also a native of the province of Kabûl, who had received from my father the title of Taush Khaun, leaving to him the same title, I conferred the rank of two thousand, presenting him at the same time with a richly caparisoned charger, jeigha and kreisse, both set with precious stones.

This person is one of the oldest retainers of our house, having eminently distinguished himself as a soldier in the time of my grandfather Homayûn, and attained his rank of ameir under my uncle Mahommed Hakkeim Mirza. He is now far advanced in years, and, though his beard has lost its jetty blackness, yet retains his pleasing cast of features.

Another native of Kabûl whom I selected for promotion was Behajah Beg Khaun, whom I raised from the order of fifteen hundred to that of three thousand. This chief is a person of the greatest practical ability, and was reckoned amongt the most respectable of the ameirs in the train of Mohammed Hakkeim above mentioned. He is a man of distinguished courage, and though an ancient soldier, is a sincere Mussulman, rigidly strict in the observance of his religious duties. I shall here add, that within a very few days I have given preferment to nearly one hundred of the same tribe, with all the usual accompaniments.

Mirza Abul Kaussem, an ameir of one thousand, I advanced to the order of fifteen hundred. He also is one of my father’s oldest retainers, a good soldier, and useful servant in other respects. It is remarkable, that of about thirty sons to whom he is the father, not one has turned to any good. It is, indeed, lamentable to observe, that the father of many sons but seldom derives any advantage from them in proportion to their number.

I conferred upon Sheikh Ally, the grandson of Sheikh Seleim of Adjmeir, the title of khaun, with the rank of an ameir of two thousand, presenting him at the same time with the sum of fifty thousand rupees, to celebrate the anniversary of his venerated relative. Sheikh Ally was bred up from infancy in the same apartments with myself, and is only one year my junior. He is a most intrepid soldier, and among the whole tribe has not now his equal. Strictly abstinent from inebriating drugs, or liquor of any kind, I entertain the highest expectations from his merit. In very truth it might be said, that I consider him as one of my own children.

I bestowed upon Seyed Ally Assuf the titles of Seyf Khaun. He is of the Seyeds of Bâurah, and son of Seyed Mahmoud, who was one among the great Ameirs of my father’s court, and a Seyed of the genuine stock. The son is worthy of his race, and no babbler. Than this, I do not know in man a better quality, and I despise the individual who is either rash in act, or hasty in discourse. In the whole course of his life I do not think that Seyf Khaun has ever been guilty of an unworthy action. He is also a stranger to inebriating drugs or spirits, and this very year I design to place him among the most exalted of nobles.

Next I promoted Feridoun, the son of Mahommed Kûly Khaun, from the order of one thousand to that of two thousand horse. Feridoun is the descendant of an illustrious race, and himself not deficient either in daring or generosity. His courage is such, indeed, that he is known to have been more than once engaged in conflict with a lion. This most formidable of wild beasts, with one hand wrapped in felt, and the other armed with a dagger, he contrived to overcome, by thrusting one hand into his jaws and stabbing him with the other until he killed him. To a Rajah Gahnum Pûll, the zemindaur of a purgunnah or district of the same name, with whom and his followers he was engaged in hostilities, he also opposed himself singly, and though wounded in several parts of his body, succeeded in keeping him in check until finally relieved.

I am now about to relate an occurrence, which from the struggle between private friendship and the sense of public duty, occasioned considerable pain to my mind. Mirza Nour, the son of Khaun-e-Auzem, was brought before me on a charge of homicide. This young man had possessed an extraordinary share in my father’s friendship, was as much beloved by him as if he had been his own child, and who made considerable sacrifices to gratify and indulge him. In these circumstances, I directed that he should be taken, together with his accusers, immediately before the Kauzy and Meir-e-Auddel (or minister of justice), who received my injunctions, according to what might be proved in evidence, to fulfil with regard to him the dictates of the law. In due time a report was laid before me from these officers of justice, declaring that Mirza Nour, the son of Khaun-e-Auzem, had been found guilty of the wilful murder of a man, and that, according to the law of Mahommed, “blood alone was the compensation for blood.” Notwithstanding my extreme regard for the son, and the respect which I bore for the father, I found it impossible to act in contravention to the ordinances of God, and I therefore, with whatever reluctance, consigned him to the hands of the executioner.

For a month afterwards, however, I endured for his death the most consuming grief, deeply regretting the loss of one so young, and possessed of so many elegant and engaging qualifications. But, however repugnant, there cannot in these cases be any alternative: for should we omit to discharge ourselves of this our irksome duty, every aggrieved person would seize his opportunity of time and place to avenge himself in his adversary’s blood. To bring, therefore, to prompt punishment the man who violates the laws of his country, is an alternative with which no person intrusted with the reins of power is authorized to dispense.

[Here follow fourteen couplets, concluding with the remark, that the renown of Solomon, however exalted, is wholly derived from his inflexible love of justice.]

Informed of the execution of his son, but aware that there could be no evasion to elude the ordinances of God, Khaun-e-Auzem, after indulging in his grief for some days, finally suffered the melancholy occurrence to be banished from his mind. Of this distinguished Ameir I shall here observe, that he was an exquisite penman in the Nestaalik character, a very perfect reciter of the chapters of the Korân, and next to Nekkeib Khaun above-mentioned, I may venture to pronounce that he was unrivalled in the recollection of past events.

Like Khaun-e-Auzem, Assuf Khaun was also an excellent reciter of the Korân, an eloquent speaker, and without his equal in conviviality of disposition. In the whole court of my father there was not an Ameir more deservedly distinguished, and I myself continue to cherish for him the highest respect, of which I have given some proof in assigning to him the title of uncle. In truth, there are belonging to him such various accomplishments, both personal and intellectual, as can seldom fall to the lot of man. But there is one blemish clinging to his character sufficient to obliterate all his virtues: his hand is closed against the graces of liberality, than which there cannot be a deeper stain on the human character, more particularly in that of a man of his exalted rank; for the canker of avarice corrodes both here and hereafter. “I have exerted all the powers of reflection to decide, but there is no quality of the mind more graceful than liberality.” Another fault by which he has exposed himself to censure, he was never known to pray. For this unpardonable defect he endeavours to apologize, by saying that he is prevented by the many temptations by which he is perpetually assailed. Neither has he ever been reclaimed, although with my father’s permission he has made the voyage to Mekkah, and there performed the sacred ceremonies of the pilgrimage with every appearance of zeal and devotion; nevertheless, on rejoining my father in Hindûstaun, this neglect of his religious duties remained unabated.

I promoted Moezz-ul-moulk from the order of five hundred to that of one thousand. Originally he bore the name of Moezz-ud-Hûsseyne, and in my father’s service had the superintendence of the goldsmith’s department. I continued to him his title, with the appointment of diwan, or steward of my household (perhaps the director of buildings). Whatever in other respects might have been the ground of his claims, his singular simplicity of mind is a pledge of his love of truth, and he is moreover sufficiently ready with his pen. Sheikh Bayezzid, another grandson of Sheikh Seleim of Adjmeir, I raised from the rank of two thousand to that of three thousand horse. The first from whom I drew milk was the mother of Sheikh Bayezzid; and with regard to himself, such is his distinguished prudence, that place him in whatever employment you may, in his hands it cannot fail to prosper.

In conversation one evening with certain Pundits, the appellation by which their divines and learned men are distinguished by the Hindûs, I took occasion to demand, supposing it to be their intention, in the images which were the objects of their worship, in some sense or other to represent the nature or essence of the Deity, what could be a greater absurdity, or more revolting to the understanding, since we all knew that the Almighty is eternally exempt from change or decay, has neither length nor breadth, and must therefore be totally invisible; how then could it be possible to bring him in any shape under the imperfect scope of human vision? “If, on the other hand,” continued I, “your idea is the descent or manifestation of the light divine in such bodies, we already know that the power of the divinity pervades all existence; this was announced to the legislator of Israel from the midst of the burning bush! If, again, it be your design to delineate by affinity (qu.) any of the attributes of the Supreme Being, we must confess that here below there cannot in reality exist any affinity, otherwise we might have expected some such manifestation by the hands of those whom, in any religion, we believe to have possessed the faculty of working miracles, and who surpassed all other men in knowledge, in power, and every human perfection. But if you consider these figures as the immediate objects of adoration, and as the source from which you may derive support and assistance in these designs, this is a most fearful conclusion, since adoration is due to God alone, supreme in glory, who has neither equal nor associate.” After a variety of arguments for and against, the most intelligent of these Pundits seemed convinced of the weakness of their cause, finally confessing, once for all, that without the intervention of these images they found it impossible to settle their minds to a steady contemplation of the perfections of the Supreme Being. To which, in reply, I could only observe, in what manner, after all, was it that these images of theirs could contribute to the attainment of such an object.^*

[Family Affairs and Experiences]
 
[Description of Family Members]

With these pundits my father Akbar was in the constant habit of familiar conversation on every subject. He associated, indeed, with the learned among the Hindûs of every description; and although he might not have derived any particular advantage from the attainment, he had acquired such a knowledge of the elegance of composition, both in prose and verse, that a person not acquainted with the circumstances of his elevated character and station, might have set him down as profoundly learned in every branch of science.

I shall here consign to perpetual remembrance, that in person my father was tall in stature, of a ruddy, or wheaten, or nut-brown complexion; his eyes and eyebrows dark, the latter running across into each other. Handsome in his exterior, he had the strength of a lion, which was indicated by the extraordinary breadth of his chest, and the length of his arms. In the whole, at all events, his exterior was most captivating. A black mole which he had on his nose, was declared by those skilled in the science of physiognomy to prognosticate an extraordinary career of good fortune: neither could he, indeed, be considered very unfortunate, who sounded the great drum of sovereign power for a period of sixty-five years, and that over a part of Hindûstaun two years’ journey in compass, without a rival and without an opponent.

To furnish some estimate of the prodigious amount to which his treasures had accumulated, I should state, that having one day given orders to Kilidge Khaun to bring him an account of the gold alone in the imperial depositories, that officer took measures as far as possible to ascertain what was to be found in the treasury at Agrah. He obtained from different tradesmen in the city four hundred pairs of scales, which for a period of five months he kept at work, both day and night, in weighing the coin and precious metals. At the end of that period my father sent to inquire how many maunns of gold had been brought to account. The reply was, that although for the whole of the five months a thousand men, with four hundred pair of scales, had been night and day unceasingly employed in weighing the contents of one only of the treasuries, they had not yet completed that part of their work. On which my father despatched to desire that matters might be left as they stood; to return the metals to their places, to secure them under lock and seal, and repair to the presence. This, it is to be observed, was the treasury of one city only.^*

The establishment of elephants which he had formed never was and never will be equalled by any earthly sovereign, for it comes not within the limits of ordinary calculation that any one will be able to bring together twelve thousand elephants of the largest class (mungloussy), with no less than twenty thousand of another class (females), to provide forage and provender for them, incurring a daily expense of four laks of rupees, equivalent to twelve thousand tomauns of Irâk.^* His hunting establishment was of a corresponding magnitude, Among other animals he had twelve thousand one-eyed antelopes to serve for the chase; and of neilahgas, mountain rams, rhinoceroses, ostriches, and elout-e-derriai,^† twelve thousand more.

For my part, I have discharged all the elephants, excepting those effectually trained for war, and a few more which I have retained for purposes of recreation. In conclusion, of the paraphernalia, the requisites for grandeur accumulated by my father, whether in treasure or splendid furniture of any description, the invincible Teymûr who subdued the world, and from whom my father was the eighth in descent, did not possess one-tenth part. But my father’s footsteps were lofty, probably he was of an ambition to aspire beyond all that went before him. In the qualities of his mind he was indeed nothing a-kin to the denizens of this lower world.

When he arrived at the age of twenty, Providence bestowed upon him his first child, who received the name of Fautma Banú Begum, but died at the age of one year. Her mother was Beiby Pungrâi. By Beiby Araumbuksh he had two sons, one of whom received the name of Hussun, and the other Hûsseyne. The latter was given to nurse to Bereijah Begum, the mother of Assuf Khaun, but lived only eighteen days; the other was consigned to the care of Zeyne Khaun Koukah, and did not live the tenth day. After these he had by Beiby Seleima Begum a daughter whom he named Shahzâdah Khaunum, who was consigned to the care of his own mother, Mereiam Makauny (who has her place with Mary). Among all my sisters, in integrity, truth, and zeal for my welfare, she is without her equal; but her time is principally devoted to the worship of her Creator.

Next was born to him by Beiby Kheira a son, to whom they gave the name of Pahry. When he became of age, being employed by my father to conduct the operations in the Dekkan, he had reduced the fortresses of Gawil,^‡ Parnalah, and other places of strength, and otherwise made successful progress towards the entire subjugation of the countries south of the Nerbudda. This prince died at Khaunpour in that territory at the early age of thirty. The name bestowed upon him by my father was Sûltan Mûrâd, but having been born among the hills of Futtahpour, and a hill in Hindûstauny being called pahr, my father in familiar language usually addressed him by the name of Pahry, or mountain-born. In other respects Sûltan Mûrâd was of a greenish or fresh complexion, in person rather spare, and inclined to tall; in disposition mild, dignified, deliberate in council, and brave in action. In conduct so discreet, that my father consigned to him the superintendance of his building department and working establishments.

Subsequently my father had by Meher Semmaa a daughter, on whom he bestowed the name of Meeti Begum; meeti in Hindûstauny signifying sweet. She died, however, at eight months old. After this he had a son by Beeby Mereiom who was placed under the care of Râjah Baharmul.

Upon the death of Sûltan Mûrâd my brother Shahzadah Danial was sent to complete the subjugation of the Dekkan. On the arrival at Bûrhampour of my father, who was proceeding to the same destination, Sûltan Danial, accompanied by the Khaun Khanan and other distinguished ameirs of every class, with a formidable allotment of the imperial armies, was detached in advance; and it was at this period that the fortress of Ahmednuggur was reduced. My father came again to Bûrhampour, and having invested Sûltan Danial with the government of the Dekkan, returned to Agrah. Danial was not more than thirty years of age when he also died at Bûrhampour, in consequence of his intemperate indulgence in the use of spirituous liquors.

His death was accompanied with circumstances in some respects so remarkable, that I cannot withhold myself from recording them in this place.

He was extremely fond of shooting and the amusements of the chase, and had a favourite fowling-piece, to which he had given the name of jennauzah (the bier), and on which he had caused to be inlaid a couplet to the following purport:

In the pleasures of the chase with thee, my soul breathes fresh and clear (tawzah),
But who receives thy fatal mission, sinks lifeless on the bier (jennauzah).

His excesses in the disgraceful propensity to which I am compelled to refer, having been carried beyond all bounds of moderation, orders were at last issued, under the directions of Khaun Khanan, that he should no longer receive any supply of liquor, and that those who were detected in any attempt to convey such supply, would be punished with death. For some time, deterred by their fears of such punishment, none of his attendants ventured to utter even the names of liquors; and several days were permitted to elapse under these circumstances. At last, no longer able to endure this abstinence from his habitual indulgence, Danial, with tears and entreaties implored Mûrshed Kuly, one of his corps of gunners, to procure him even the most trifling quantity of the poisonous liquid, promising him advancement to the summit of his wishes provided he would comply with his request. Mûrshed Kûly, affected by the touching humility of the prince’s address, at last desired to know in what way it was possible to gratify him without incurring the risk of discovery and certain death. Danial replied, that at such a moment, a draught of liquor was to him as much as life itself.— “Go,” said he, “and bring me the spirit in the barrel of one of my fowling pieces; twice or thrice repeated I shall be satisfied, and thou wilt be safe against discovery, or even suspicion.” Subdued by these intreaties, Mûrshed Kûly did as he was desired; filled the piece so ominously named jennauzah with spirits, and brought it to his master. As the inauspicious name had been given to the piece by himself, it was so ordained by Providence that to drink what was conveyed by it and to be laid on his bier was one and the same thing—he drank of the liquid mischief and died: so true is it, that the tongue should be restrained from indulging in rash expressions.

In fine, what does not always occur in the same person, Danial was almost as fond of good eating as he was of drink. But there was one absurd ambition which seemed to be predominant with him beyond every other—that of possessing a superior train of elephants; to such a degree that, even among his own ameirs, if he saw one of surpassing size or quality, he did not scruple to take it away, sometimes forgetting the trifling ceremony of paying for it; of which hereafter. In short, as far as his power extended, he did not permit any one but himself to be master of a prime elephant. I shall lastly observe that Sûltan Danial was extremely fond of Hindûstauny music, and no bad reciter of Hindy poetry.

To return to the enumeration of my father’s children, he had by Naun Beiby a daughter whom he named Lâla Begum, and whom he consigned also to the care of his mother, in whose charge she died at the expiration of eighteen months. Next, by Beiby Douletshah he had a daughter, on whom he bestowed the name of Araumbanu Begum. For this latter he entertained the greatest fondness, repeatedly recommending her to my protection, and charging me, for his sake, when he should be no more, to regard her with the same indulgent kindness— not without expressing his assurance, that his words would find a permanent place in my remembrance.

[Description of Akbar]

Of my father I may further observe, that in youth it would appear that he made good eating one of the greatest pleasures of his life, and considered a powerful appetite as one of its greatest blessings. Nevertheless, so sincere and humble a sense did he entertain of the superintending power of Providence, that, with armies so numerous and formidable at command, with a train of war elephants in number, and treasures in accumulation beyond all precedent, and an extent of empire, might, and grandeur never surpassed, he never for a moment permitted himself to be unmindful of that eternal Being whom he adored; and hence it was that the following couplet was ever on his lips: “Ever, in all places, with all men, and under every variety of circumstances, place thine eye and heart secretly inclined towards thine everlasting Friend.”

But in his character one prominent feature was, that with every religion he seems to have entered, through life, into terms of unreserved concord, and with the virtuous and enlightened of every class, of every sect and profession of faith, he did not scruple to associate, as opportunities occurred; for the most part devoting the live-long night to this species of social enjoyment. And here it is to be remembered that, generally speaking, and taking the day and night together, his period of sleep did not extend in the whole to more than one pahar (or watch) of time.

His personal courage was of that fearless and imperturbable nature, that he has been seen not unfrequently to spring from the back of a female elephant to that of the most furious and refractory, known to have destroyed many a keeper, and this to the astonishment of those who had been most accustomed to the management of these enormous animals. On other occasions where the elephant was so furious and intractable as not to endure the approach of the female, he would ascend either a wall or a tree by which the elephant was to pass, and from thence cast himself without hesitation on the back of the infuriated animal; the mysterious energies with which the Almighty had endowed him being such that the elephant, as if by instinct of some supernatural influence, quietly submitted to his management.

In proof of his more than ordinary muscular powers, I shall relate, that he caused a massive iron chain to be made of ten Hindûstauny maunns, equal to an hundred maunns of Irâk in weight, which every morning he was in the habit of working about with such apparent facility as to be quite astonishing, it being an operation which required an uncommon degree of strength.

Of his extraordinary skill in military movements, indefatigable activity, and proficiency in the art of war, it will be sufficient to record the two following instances.

First. It is well known that when he ascended the throne of Hindûstaun, on the demise of my grandfather Hemayûn, my father was not more than fourteen years of age. It was at such a crisis that the infidel Himmû, who had made himself monarch of the Afghans, and to whom they pointed the finger as the hero of their tribe, put his armies in hostile array against the imperial authority. The conflict to which these indications of hostility led took place exactly on Thursday the sixth of Mohurrim, of the nine hundred and sixty-third of the Hidjera (20th of November, A.D. 1555). It is not surprising that this man should have been elated beyond measure with the contemplation of his power, when we reflect that he had been triumphant in two most sanguinary battles with the most puissant of Indian râjahs; that on this occasion he was at the head of one hundred thousand horse, fifty thousand camel-mounted musqueteers, and three thousand elephants trained for the field; and that he should have borne, moreover, the reputation of being extremely brave in action. He sent, however, to my father a message, reminding him that, young as he was, he ought not to imagine that he was able to sustain a contest with a monarch of his superior might. “Come not,” said he, “within the reach of my numerous and resistless troops and elephants, lest in the collision thou come to harm. I resign to thee all the territories eastward from the Jumnah to the uttermost limits of Bengal, and mine be the remainder of Hindûstaun.” My father, in reply, desired him to reflect that there was little to boast of in his success over the unequal force of a petty Hindy chief—where was the renown of throwing a chain over his own slave? “Without experience of a battle with the brave, or having known aught of a shock with the warriors of my race, what canst thou conceive of the horrors of an equal conflict? The shadows of night disappear at the approach of day, when the Lord of Light unsheathes his sword of splendour. At to-morrow’s dawn come to the field in thy strongest array, we shall then soon see whom God is disposed to favour.”

Receiving this answer of defiance from my father, Himmû proceeded to communicate to his generals his arrangement for the battle, detaching a strong division with one thousand elephants in advance of the main body, and placing the remaining two thousand elephants in reserve in the rear of his line. In this disposition he presented himself at the head of his army and led them to the conflict. My father, on his part, having distributed his band of martial music upon elephants, and formed an advanced guard of five thousand mailed cavalry, with one thousand trained elephants, without further concern mounted his elephant and placed himself directly in front of Himmû. It is proper to state that my father’s army consisted of no more than fifty thousand horse, and eight thousand camel-mounted gunners or matchlock-men. The battle commenced with a discharge of arrows and fire-arms, the elephants of the contending hosts being at the same time urged against each other by their keepers.

My father’s fortune soon declared itself. An arrow transpierced the ill-fated Himmû through the head, and thus was he despatched to the abode of the wretched. His troops perceiving the catastrophe, immediately broke their ranks and fled: and thus were his boasted elephants, his treasures, and all the implements of his grandeur, at a single shift of fortune given to the winds. Shah Kûly Khaun Mohurrem, with some of his followers, happened to reach the spot where lay the throne of the fallen infidel, in the formation of which had been expended, in gold and jewels, the sum of two laks of five methkaly ashrefies;^*

and which, having with some difficulty saved from being pillaged, together with the elephant on which it had been mounted, he brought to the presence of my father. The mutilated head of Himmû, together with his tiara set with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and pearls, to the value of sixty laks of ashrefies,^* was at the same time laid before my father.

[Akbar's Military Experiences]

This being his first victory, my father considered it an omen auspicious to the glory of his reign. In the exultation of the moment, he raised the fortunate Shah Kûly Khaun to the rank of an ameir of five thousand, with the insignia of the drum and standard. Treasure and valuable effects to an incredible amount, together with three thousand elephants, fifty thousand camels, and other articles too numerous for detail, were the immediate fruits of this triumphant day. On this occasion it was suggested to my father by his minister Beyram Khaun, to inflict a wound on the lifeless body, as a token of the consummation of his victory over the infidel. In reply my father observed, that sometime back, while amusing himself in his father’s library, and looking at some paintings, the performance of Abdussummud the painter, a portrait was placed in his hands, which from the information of the attendants he found to be that of Himmû. “Instantly,” said he, “I tore the thing to tatters, and threw it away from me. Let it suffice now that the man has met with his deserts; I considered that I had then achieved my victory over him.”

When they came to count the slain in this battle, it was found that fourteen thousand of the infidels had been put to the sword, exclusive of those who escaped from the field and perished of their wounds.

[According to Abûl Fazzel this battle was fought, like most other battles for the sovereignty of Hindûstaun, in the vicinity of Pânipet, on Thursday the second of Mohurrim of the nine hundredth and sixty-fourth of the Hidjera, just one year later than described in the memoirs. The historian further states that Himmû, though pierced through the eye with an arrow, was yet alive when brought before Akbar, and obstinately refusing to speak, the young emperor, though urged to it, declined notwithstanding to pollute his sword with the blood of his defenceless captive; on which the minister Beyram Khaun put the unfortunate man to death with his own hand. With a feeling which reflects honour on his memory, Abûl Fazzel expresses his regret that the life of so brave and able a man should not have been spared, and his talents employed, as they might have been with perfect security, in the service of the state].

Secondly. Again, when information was brought to him at Futtahpour that the people of Gûjerat, under Mirza Ibrauhim Hûsseyne and Mirza Shah Mirza, had surrounded and laid siege to the city of Ahmedabad, although defended by a numerous body of troops under Khaun-e-Auzem,^* my father entered into consultation with some of his confidential servants, as to the measures to be adopted towards the punishment of these hostile proceedings. Beiby Begum, the mother of Khaun-e-Auzem, who was my father’s nurse, was also present at this council by particular desire of my father. In concurrence with the suggestions of his faithful council, it was determined that a force should be immediately brought together, and my father proceeding in person at the head of his troops, the account with these redoubtable adversaries would be settled without much difficulty. It is to be observed, that from Futtahpour, where my father then held his court, to Gûjerat, is a distance of two months’ journey. Nevertheless, having completed his equipments and put the troops in motion, my father by forced marches, which he continued night and day, sometimes on horseback and sometimes on a despatch camel, in fourteen days accomplished that which on ordinary occasions was a journey of two months, and placed himself in the very front of his enemies.

This was on a Wednesday in the second Jummaudy of the year nine hundred and eighty.^† When close upon the insurgents, and not a vestige of the imperial garrison to be seen, it was in debate whether it would not be advisable to make a night attack upon the enemy. To this, however, my father objected, observing that these night attacks were the resource of the timid only, and suited those alone who proceeded by trick. At break of day therefore of the ensuing morning he directed the great drum for battle to be sounded, and a band of forty-five pair of kettle-drums and twenty Tatar horns striking up at once where they least expected it, produced the utmost astonishment in the camp of the enemy, whose attention had been hitherto entirely occupied with the siege of the opposite town.

Having mounted his horse and proceeded a little in advance, my father came to the right bank of the river Sâbermatty, and observing a body of the enemy on the opposite bank, gave instant orders that the troops should plunge into the stream in their present array, and at all hazards cross to the other side. He observed at the same time that the ground on the right bank was so overgrown with jungle, or brushwood, as to be most inconvenient for battle, and that if he allowed of any delay for the purpose of procuring boats, the enemy would rally their courage and become contumacious.

In these circumstances of surprise and alarm Mahommed Hûsseyne Mirza despatched some light troops to the river side, to demand of Sûbhaun Kûly, a Tûrkoman chief who had advanced to the opposite bank, what were the objects of this unlooked-for array, and who was the general who commanded? The Tûrkoman desired these equally ill-fated, and ignorant as they seemed to be, to be informed that the troops they saw before them were the advanced guard of the imperial armies, and that the emperor in person was present on the spot. Although their hearts had already begun to sink within them, and they could not yet divest themselves of their alarms, they ventured, however, to dispute the fact. “What absurdity is that you state!” said these mistaken men; “fourteen days ago only, our spies left the emperor at Futtahpour, and the army with its elephants and equipments could scarcely be conveyed hither in less than two months; this therefore must be a falsehood, and its authors could only be apostates and vagabonds escaped from the hands of justice.”

My father now gave directions to place the troops in order of battle. Still there happened somewhat of delay; but the light troops bringing the report that the enemy were arming themselves, he finally gave the word to pass the river. At such a crisis, however, instead of obeying the orders conveyed to him to quit his ground, Khaun Kullan wrote to my father, to represent that the force of the enemy was great beyond all proportion of numbers; that the four greatest princes in Gûjerat were united at their head; that they had nearly two hundred thousand horse claid in mail or quilted coats, and twenty thousand camel-mounted matchlock-men, resolved to conquer or die; that they had moreover thirty thousand camel loads of rockets. That of all this he had, he said, undoubted intelligence. Until, therefore, the imperial army should have been joined by the troops under Khaun Khanan, Khaun-e-douraun, Khaun-e-jahaun, with the greater part of the expected reinforcements, it would be utterly repugnant to every maxim of prudence and discipline, with so small a body of men to cross the river, and place themselves in front of an enemy so very superior.

To this my father replied, that he had ever, and on this occasion more than any other, reposed his confidence in the goodness of God, and in his never-failing support. That had his reliance been placed on human aid, he would never have committed himself thus almost alone to the presence of his mortal enemies. “The matter,” said he, “is now in other hands. Whatever may be his will, must come to pass. But the enemy is advancing to give us battle, and it would be the height of absurdity, by any wavering or indecision on our part, to confirm and give him courage at such a moment.”

Thus, although the cavalry and greater part of his principal generals were yet far in the rear, and those present did not amount to more than five thousand; although most of the Ameirs about his person urged the expediency of delay until the arrival of the main body to his support, my father resisted every importunity, and continued unshaken in his resolution to give battle. Just as matters were arrived at this perilous crisis, he suddenly dismounted from his horse, and turning his face towards the Keblah, or sanctuary of Makkah, humbly and earnestly besought the support of Him, who is the giver of victory and the author of all existence. Then remounting his charger, in perfect reliance on the aid of Providence, with the distinguished few who had the glorious destiny to be in attendance, he plunged fearlessly into the stream, and through the goodness of God, and the victorious fortune of his house, firmly established himself on the opposite bank; the whole of the companions of his glory on this occasion not amounting, when collected together, to more than five thousand horse. At this moment my father asked for his cloak (yelghah), which he had handed to Rajah Debchund, one of his attendants, to take care of, but which they now said had been lost or thrown away in the rapidity of the passage. “This,” said my father, “is also an omen in our favour: the avenues to the field of battle will now be thrown more widely open; that is, we shall enter the conflict without incumbrance.”

The imperial troops were by this time arriving in small parties on the river side, and plunging also into the stream, the body about the person of Akbar soon accumulated to ten thousand horse, together with one thousand elephants and two thousand gunners or matchlock-men. The refractory Mirzas, hurried to destruction by their destiny, continued all this time unmoved, at the head of a force so superior, ready for battle against their imperial master, for whose numerous acts of bounty and generosity they were making this ungrateful return.

Khaun-e-Auzem, who could not have conceived that his master had conveyed himself and his army to the spot with such astonishing celerity, now left the city and threw himself at his feet, swearing many an oath that he could yet scarcely believe the evidence of his senses. He was followed by Assuf Khaun and most of the other Ameirs of Ahmedabad, who successively hastened to present themselves to their sovereign.

All of a sudden, from among the trees of a neighbouring jungle, a body of the enemy made its appearance; and my father, with reliance unabated on his Maker, to whose providence he had resigned his cause, prepared with fortitude to receive the attack. Mahommed Kûly Khaun and Terkhan Diwaunah, with some others from the centre, made a movement forward; but suffering themselves to be repulsed by the enemy after a rather feeble attempt, my father expressed his displeasure, and addressing himself to Rajah Bugwandas,^* briefly observed, that however superior the force of the enemy, which he confessed to be rather beyond what he could have wished, yet that they had no alternative but in their swords. “If,” said he, “we but once shew our backs, the enemy will derive courage from our cowardice, and not one of us will be suffered to escape. In full reliance on the power of the Creator we came to this spot, and be it our part, with one mind and one countenance, to make a concentrated effort against our adversaries: covered as they are with crimes and blood, the issue cannot be doubtful. It is with the clenched fist, not with the open hand, that our task is to be accomplished.”

At this moment Mahommed Hûsseyne Mirza disengaged himself from the ranks of the enemy, and advanced to the front; observing which, Shah Kûly Khaun Mohurrem and Husseyne Khaun Tûrkoman called out that the crisis for a charge was arrived: to which my father cheerfully agreed. “I have secured for you,” said he, “the aid of Providence, and the moment is arrived.” They accordingly moved forward, but slowly and deliberately, until they came nearly in contact with their opponents.

My father was mounted on the occasion on a favourite charger, to which he had given the name of Kohpârah (montis pars), and which was repeatedly known to have rushed into the very jaws of an elephant. Clad in mail from head to foot, with lance in hand and quiver to his waist, and supported by the most distinguished heroes of his court, he now put himself in an attitude for the charge. The war band, composed of forty-five pairs of kettle-drums on elephants, with thirty horns and fifty trumpets, struck up at once, and the whole, to the cry of Allah-hû-Akbar, rushed sword in hand upon the enemy.