From the time of Akbar's death, the kings* of the Dak'hin had been restless, and Malik 'Ambar had seized upon several places in the Bálág'hát District. The Khán Khánán, (No. 29), with his usual duplicity, had done nothing to recover the loss, and Jahángír sent Prince Parwíz to the Dak'hin, with A´çaf Khán as atálíq, and the most renowned grandees of the Court, as Rájah Mán Singh (No. 30), Khán Jahán Lodí, Khán i A'zam, (No. 21), 'Abdullah Khán, “each in himself sufficient for the conquest of a country.” But incessant drinking on the part of the Prince, and the jealousy and consequent insubordination of the Amírs, spoiled everything, and the Mughuls suffered a check and lost their prestige (p. 326). Not long after, in 1021, A´çaf died at Burhánpúr. The Táríkh of his death is—

<Arabic>. A hundred times Alas! for Açaf Khán!

The Tuzuk (p. 108) says that he died at the age of sixty-three.

A´çaf Khán is represented as a man of the greatest genius. He was an able financier, and a good accountant. A glance is said to have been sufficient for him to know the contents of a page. He was a great horticulturist, planting and lopping off branches with his own hands in his gardens; and he often transacted business with a garden spade in his hand. In religious matters, he was a free-thinker, and one of Akbar's disciples (p. 209). He was one of the best poets of Akbar's age, an age most fruitful in great poets. His Masnawí, entitled Núrnámah, ranks after Nizám's Shírín Khusrau. Vide below among the poets of Akbar's reign.

A´çaf kept a great number of women, and had a large family.

His sons. 1. Mírzá Zain ul'ábidín. He was a commander of Fifteen Hundred, 500 horse, and died in the second year of Sháhjahán's reign. He had a son Mírzá Ja'far, who like his grandfather was a poet, writing under the same takhalluç (Ja'far). He, Záhid Khán Kokah, and M. Sháfí (Pádisháhnámah; Sáqí, Maásir), son of Saif Khán, were such intimate friends, that Sháhjahán dubbed them sih yár, ‘the three friends.’ He later resigned the service, and lived in A´grah on the pension which Sháh­jahán granted and Aurangzíb increased. He died in 1094.

2. Suhráb Khán. He was under Sháhjahán a Commander of Fifteen Hundred, 1,200 horse, and died in the 13th year of Sháhjahán.

3. Mírzá 'Alí Açghar. He was a hasty youth, and could not bridle his tongue. In the Parendah expedition, he created dissensions between Sháh Shujá' and Mahábat Khán. He served in the war against Jujhár Bandelah, and perished at the explosion of a tower in Fort Dhamúní, as related in the Pádisháhnámah. He had just been married to the daughter of Mu'tamid Khán Bakhshí (author of the Iqbálnámah i Jahángírí); but as no cohabitation had taken place, Sháhjahán married her to Khán Daurán. He was a Commander of Five Hundred, 100 horse.

4. Mírzá 'Askarí. He was in the 20th year of Sháhjahán a Commander of 500, 100 horse.

The lists of grandees in the Pádisháhnámah mention two relations of A´çaf— 1. Muhammad Çálih, son of Mírzá Sháhí, brother or nephew of A´çaf. He was a Commander of One Thousand, 800 horse, and died in the second year of Sháhjahán's reign. 2. Muqím, a Commander of Five Hundred, 100 horse.

99. Shaikh Fari´d i Bukha´ri´.

The Iqbálnámah, according to the Maásir, says, he belonged to the Músawí Sayyids; but this is extraordinary, because the Bukhárí Sayyid's trace their descent to Sayyid Jalál i Bukhárí, seventh descendant of Imám 'Alí Naqí Alhádí.

The fourth ancestor of Shaikh Faríd was Shaikh 'Abdulghaffár of Dihlí, who when dying desired his family to give up depending on Sayúrghál tenures, but rather to enter the military service of the kings. This they seem to have done.

Shaikh Faríd was born as Dihlí (Tuzuk, p. 68). He entered Akbar's service early. In the 28th year, when M. 'Azíz (No. 21) resigned from ill-health the command of the Bihár army, S. F. accompanied Vazír Khán (No. 41) to the neighbourhood of Bard­wán, where Qutlú of Oṛísá had collected his Afgháns. Qutlú having made proposals of peace, S. F. was ordered to meet him. In doing so he nearly perished through Qutlú's treachery (vide Stewart's Bengal). In the 30th year, he was made a Com­mander of 700, and gradually rose, till the 40th year, to a command of 1500. He was also appointed Mír Bakhshí, and had also for some time the Daftar i Tan in his charge, i. e., he had to settle all matters relating to the grants of Jágír holders.

His elevation under Jahángír, was due to the decided support he gave Jahán­gír, immediately before his accession, and to the victory he obtained over Prince Khusrau at Bhairoṉwál. When Prince Salím occupied Iláhábád during his rebellion against his father, appointing his servants to mançabs and giving them jágírs, Akbar favoured Prince Khusrau so openly, that every one looked upon him as successor. Soon after, a sort of reconciliation was effected, and Salím's men were sent to Gujrát. When Akbar lay on the death-bed, he ordered Salím to stay outside the Fort of A´grah; and M. 'Azíz Kokah (No. 21) and Rájah Mán Singh, who from family considerations favoured Khusrau's succession, placed their own men at the gates of the fort, and asked Shaikh Faríd to take the command. But Sh. F. did not care for their arrange­ments and went over to Prince Salím outside, and declared him emperor, before Akbar had closed his eyes. On the actual accession, S. F. was made a commander of 5000, received the title of Çáhibussaif wa-lqalam,* and was appointed Mír Bakhshí.

A short time after, on the 8th Zí Hajjah, 1014, Prince Khusrau suddenly left A´grah, and went plundering and recruiting to Láhor. Sh. F., with other Bukhárí and many Bárha Sayyids, was sent after him, whilst Jahángír himself followed soon after, accompanied by Sharíf Khán Amír ul Umará, and Mahábat Khán, who were hostile to Sh. F., and took every possible opportunity of slandering him. Sulṭán Khusrau had gone to Láhor, and besieged the town, when he heard of Sh. F.'s arrival with 12000 horse at the Ab i Sulṭánpúr. He raised the siege, and arrived at the Biáh, which Sh. F. had just crossed. Khusrau was immediately attacked. The fight was unusually severe. The Bárha and Bukhárí Sayyids had to bear the brunt of the fight, the former in the van under the command of Saif Khán, son of Sayyid Mahmúd Khán Kundlíwál, (p. 392) and Sayyid Jalál. There were about 50 or 60 of the Bárha Sayyids opposed to 1500 Badakhshí troopers, and had not S. Kamál (p. 397) come in time to their rescue, charging the enemy with loud cries of Pádisháh salámat, the Bárha Sayyids would have been cut down to a man. Sayyid Saif Khán got seventeen wounds, and S. Jalál died a few days after the battle. About four hundred of Khusrau's troopers were killed, and the rest dis­persed. Khusrau's jewel-box fell into the hands of the Imperialists. The fight took place in the neighbourhood of Bhairoṉwál.* In the evening Jahángír arrived, embraced S. F., and stayed the night in his tent. The District was made into a Parganah of the name of Fathábád, and was given Sh. F. as a present. He received, besides, the title of Murtazá Khán, and was appointed governor of the Çúbah of Gujrát.