He now returned victorious to Jaunpúr, and having for the second time settled the administration of the place upon Bárbak Sháh, he again set out on his return to Dehlí. He enjoyed himself in field sports during one month in the neighbourhood of Oudh; but when he reached Katehr, he received intelligence that Bárbak Sháh could not maintain himself in Jaunpúr against the attacks of the zamíndárs; upon which the Sultán detached Muhammad Khán Farmulí, 'Azam Humáyún, Khán Jahán, and Khán-khánán Lohání by way of Oudh, and Mubárak Khán by that of Karra, with orders to put Bárbak Sháh in chains, and send him to Court. This being faithfully executed, he gave him in charge to 'Umar Khán Sarwání and Haibat Khán, and proceeded himself to the fort of Chunár to chastise some nobles of Sultán Husain Sharkí. These, however, after giving battle, were obliged to retreat, and fortified themselves in Chunár, which being very strong and almost impregnable, he did not stop to besiege it, but proceeded towards Kantít, a dependency of Panna;* the Rájá of which place, Ráí Bhíd, came out to meet him, and proffered his allegiance, for which the Sultán confirmed him in the possession of Kantít, and moved on to Arail and Bayák. It was at this time that Ráí Bhíd, in consequence of his suspicious temper, abandoned all his camp-equipage and effects, and fled. The Sultán ordered his whole property to be collected together, and sent to the Rájá.* On his arrival at Arail, he ordered the gardens and habitations of that district to be laid waste; after which, he proceeded, by the way of Karra, to Dalamau, where he married the widow of Sher Khán Lohání, who was one of the most beautiful and intelligent women of the age; and then continued his march to Shamsábád, from whence, after a stay of six months, he proceeded to Sambhal, but returned again from thence to Shamsábád. On his way thither, he destroyed a place called Pareotákal, the sink and receptacle of marauders, and put to death most of that rebellious gang.
After spending the rainy season at Shamsábád, in A.H. 900
(1494-5), he set out in the direction of Panna, for the purpose of
chastising Rájá Bhíd; but on his arrival at Khán Ghátí, he fell
in with his son Bír Sing Deo, who offered battle, but, being put
to flight, fled towards Panna, pursued by the army of Islám. On
the Sultán's arrival at Panna, Rájá Bhíd fled towards Sirguja,
but died on the road. Sultán Sikandar then penetrated as far
as Phaphúnd, belonging to Panna;*
but he was compelled to
retreat to Jaunpúr, in consequence of the extreme scarcity of
provisions, opium, salt, and oil. Besides which, almost all the
horses perished; so much so, that ninety out of every hundred
died. In consequence of this, Lakhní Chand, a son of Rájá
Bhíd, and all the zamíndárs wrote to Sultán Husain, representing
that Sikandar did not possess a single horse, all having
perished. Husain, upon this, marched out of Bihár at
the head of a large force, including 100 elephants, with the
intention of defeating Sultán Sikandar; who, having crossed
the Ganges at the ferry of Kantít, went first to Chunár, and
thence to Benáres. He detached Khán-khánán to Salbáhan,
the son of Rájá Bhíd, with directions to conciliate him, and
induce him to accompany the Khán. Meanwhile, Sultán Husain
had reached within thirteen kos of Benáres, and Sultán Sikandar
drew near with all expedition; and having marshalled his troops,
with the divine aid, commenced the engagement, supported by
Salbában, who had opportunely arrived to his support. The
battle was well contested; but at length the fortune of the day
suddenly turned against Sultán Husain, who fled towards Patna;
but being closely pursued by Sultán Sikandar at the head of
100,000 cavalry, he took the route of Bihár. After the lapse of
nine days, Sultán Sikandar succeeded in reaching Husain's
camp, and then heard that he had fled to Bihár. Thither also
he was pursued by Sikandar, and on his ascertaining this to be
the case, he left Malik Kandú behind in the fort, and sought
shelter at Khalgánw, a dependency of Lakhnautí.*
Sultán Sikan-
Sultán Sikandar punishes the governor of Dehlí.—His proceedings
at Gwálior, Bayána, Dhúlpúr, and Mandrail.—Foundation
of Ágra.—Earthquake at Ágra.—Proceedings on the Cham-
About the same time intelligence of the mal-administration and misconduct of Asghar, the governor of Dehlí, reaching the sublime ear, Khawás Khán, governor of Máchíwára, was commissioned to apprehend and transmit him to Court. But prior to the arrival of Khawás Khán, Asghar, on the 1st of Safar, 906 H. (27 August, 1500), fled from Dehlí to Sambhal, to offer his submission; but by the high command of the Sultán, he was seized and thrown into prison. Khawás Khán repaired to Dehlí, and leaving there his son Isma'íl Khán, returned, according to orders, to Sambhal. The Sultán received him most graciously, and presented him with an honorary vest. Soon after, Sa'íd Khán Sarwání, who belonged to the seditious party, came from Lahore to pay his respects. The Sultán banished him, together with Tátár Khán, Muhammad Sháh, and the other disaffected chiefs, from his empire; and they accordingly took the route of Gwálior, and went off in haste to Málwá and Gujarát.
Rájá Mán, of Gwálior, sent one of his attendants, Nihál, with valuable presents to the Sultán; but when the envoy was admitted to him, he returned such coarse and improper answers to the questions put to him, that the Sultán, in a rage, uttered a threat* that he would himself command an expedition against the fort (of Gwálior) and capture it.
Meanwhile, the report of the death of Khán-khánán Farmulí, governor of Bayána, having reached the Sultán, he appointed the two sons of the deceased, 'Imád and Sulaimán, to succeed him; but as Bayána, owing to its strong fort and frontier situation, was the seat of sedition and tumult, they both came with their attendants to Sambhal, to consult with the Sultán about some affairs. Deeming their arrival inopportune, he appointed Khawás Khán governor of Bayána; and after some days, Safdar Khán was nominated governor of Ágra, one of its dependencies. To 'Imád and Sulaimán he gave Shamsábád, Jalesár, Manglaur, Sháhábád, and some other districts. After that, he ordered 'Álam Khán Mewáttí, and Khán-khánán Lohání, jágírdár of Ráprí, in conjunction with Khawás Khán, to reduce the fort of Dhúlpúr, and wrest it from the hands of Ráí Mánik-deo. When these chiefs, in execution of the command, directed their route against that place, the ráí came out to repel force by force, and much life was daily lost on both sides. Amongst the killed was Khwája Ben, one of the most gallant of combatants.