* IN short, after the Khán had resigned his life into the hands of the angel of death, Mirzá Ali Taghái (that Shaikh of Satans) and Khwája Sháh Muhammad Diván (mother of Satans, in whose eyes for years past, the ophthalmia of envy had filled the place of light) having conspired together, sent Yádgár Muhammad, son-in­law of Mirzá Ali, to Rashid Sultán in Aksu, with a letter issued in the Khán's name and made up of impertinences and falsehoods. They declared it to be the Khán's last testament, and that he, before dying, had said: “I did not wish to make the holy war in Tibet. It was Sayyid Muhammad Mirzá and Mirzá Haidar who forced me to take the step. I shall never be satisfied with my son Abdur Rashid, if he does not put these men to death. Their death will be in retaliation for mine. Moreover, as long as they exist, the sovereignty will not be his.” Having devised such infamous lies as these—the outcome of that devilry which for so many years had held possession of their brains—they sent [the letter] off. At the same time, they sent another messenger to my uncle, relating the manner of the Khán's death, asking what was to be done, and adding that any instructions should be carried out in full. These lies were confirmed by the most solemn oaths.

When this message reached my uncle, he was filled with emotion and alarm. He performed the proper ceremonies of mourning, and set out from Káshghar for Yarkand. As it was the season of Asad and the heat was excessive, the Khán's remains were brought in and buried, as quickly as possible, in a chamber of the palace [Diván-khána ]. In the meanwhile, my uncle arrived from Káshghar. Having paid a visit of condolence to the ladies of [the late Khán's] haram, he performed similar duties with respect to the rest of the household. All the Amirs who were on the spot, came and begged my uncle for a compact or treaty. First of all, in the presence of this body of grandees, Ulama and Amirs, he promised that their interests should be attended to even better than they had been in the lifetime of the late Khán. They, on their part, professed their allegiance to him by means of the strongest and most solemn oaths. “We too,” [they said] “will, even more than in times past, show our loyalty and singleness of purpose.” In particular, Mirzá Ali Taghái was profuse in his protestations of devotion and sincerity.

Having satisfied their minds on these points, they turned their attention to the raising up of Abdur Rashid Sultán as the new Khán, and plans were suggested for his installation. These having been settled in the most satisfactory manner, they only awaited the arrival of Rashid Sultán. It was the last day of Zul-hijja when news of his arrival was received. My uncle sent forward the grandees to meet him, and made every preparation for a royal and dignified reception. “But,” he said, “it is not proper that he should make his entry on the last day of the month and of the year, and on a Wednesday. To-night he had better remain in the suburbs, and to-morrow, Thursday, the first of Moharram, and the beginning of the year 940, he should enter the town.” This plan was decided upon and the Amirs went forward.

But Mirzá Ali Taghái went privately, and said to [Rashid Sultán]:—“As the Khán's honour is in my keeping, I feel it my duty to tell him of a scheme now being laid, which was proposed to myself and the Amirs by Sayyid Muhammad Mirzá. I would lay it before you now, in order that timely measures may be taken to check it. The promise he exacted from us was, that as soon as Rashid Sultán arrived, we should lay him by his father's side, and that we should set upon the throne of the Khánate, Iskandar Sultán, who is in Tibet.” Such lies as these he not only invented, but impressed in such a way [on Rashid Sultán] that [the latter] saw no good reason for doubting him. On the morning of Thursday, the first of Moharram 940, Rashid Sultán set out towards his father's tomb. My uncle, clothed in mourning, [two couplets] … was seated by the [late] Khán's grave. As Rashid Sultán rode up to the door of the house, my uncle came forward, his vest rent open, his beard torn, his black turban thrown upon the ground, and on his shoulders black felt [two couplets], … uttering moans and laments. Rashid Sultán [imme­diately] ordered his men to seize him, which they did from either side, and let fall upon his Musulmán neck, a non-Musulmán sword —severing his head from his body. Ali Sayyid, likewise, who has been mentioned in several places, attained the degree of martyr.

Having murdered these two unfortunates, he dismounted and advanced to the head of his father's tomb. Thence, he went and paid a visit of condolence to the ladies of the haram. Mean­while, he sent Mirzá Ali Taghái to Káshghar to put to death my uncle's children, Husain Mansur, son of Sayyid Muhammad Mirzá, and Sultán Muhammad Mirzá, son of Mirzá Abá Bakr, and also the son of Sayyid Mahmud; none of these three had attained the age of twenty. He spared no act of insult or violence [towards those who were left alive—namely, the wives and families of my uncle]. Thus were my uncle's faithful and devoted services to Rashid Sultán, rewarded with murder and violence, and those solemn oaths and binding compacts which they had mutually sworn to, consumed like blood-money.* [Couplet]… It is a practice among [some] nations to do honour to their dead, by sacrificing the choicest of their flocks and the best of their cattle. Rashid Sultán, on his father's demise, put to death my uncle, his children and Ali Sayyid: that is to say, he sacrificed them. [Two couplets]…

After he had killed my uncle, and had ill-treated [his family], he went on to offer such insults and indignities to the haram of his noble father, as modesty prevents me from describing. Mauláná Sharaf-ud-Din Ali Yazdi, in the Zafar-Náma, describes the misdeeds of Sultán Khalil Mirzá, one of the grandsons of Amir Timur, who succeeded his grandfather on the throne of Samarkand. This passage I have copied exactly into this place. Certainly, with the exception of Sultán Khalil Mirzá, no one but Rashid Sultán has practised such tyranny and wrong. These matters being some­what delicate to relate, I have copied out the passage in order to give some idea of this lamentable affair. The evident intention of Sharaf-ud-Din Ali Yazdi, in mentioning these hideous deeds, was that his readers and men of note might be warned to avoid criminal acts, and practise works of righteousness.*

Rashid Sultán did not stop here, but also subjected to every kind of harsh treatment and insult, his aunts, who were members of my haram, and the mother of the children of Sháh Muhammad Sultán, who have been mentioned above on various occasions, and will be spoken of again in their proper place. The mother of the children of Sháh Muhammad Sultán is Khadija Sultán, a full sister to the late Khán. Though she was suffering from hectic fever and dropsy, and confined to her bed, he banished her and her children into Badakhshán, but ere she could arrive, she died on the road, after undergoing a thousand trials and hardships. Her children, Ismail Sultán, Ishák Sultán, Yakub Sultán, and Muhtarima Khánim—some in infancy, some still at the breast, desolate and friendless exiles—were sent to Kábul, where they were received with fatherly kindness by Timur Sultán, who has been mentioned as being in Hind, in the service of Kámrán Mirzá. He undertook the entire charge of his sister's sons.

Ismail Sultán perished in the wars in Hindustán. Yakub Sultán died a natural death. Muhtarima Khánim was, by my agency, married to Kámrán Mirza, as will be related; Ishák Sultán, also through my influence, is still with Kámrán.