An account of the reduction to order and obedience of the Capital, and the merited punishment of the Traitor Kishn Rao, with the arrival of the Sultán there.— Also, the Invasion and ravage of the Mussulman Territory (Mysore) by the Moghuls and Mahrattas, with other events of the same year 1206, Hijri.— A. D. 1791.

WHEN Syud Sáhib received orders to depart, he proceeded forthwith by the route of the Makri Jungul and Rai Droog, and arrived at the capital of the Sultán, Seringaputtun, at mid-night, and placed his encampment on this side the river, while he himself with a few friends, and four or five hundred horse advanced to the gate of the fort, and before the appearance of the first light of the morning, called out to the guard at the gate to open it. As it happened, that Assud Khán Risaldár and other loyal subjects of the Sultán had been appointed to the charge of this gate, they pleased at the arrival of the Syud, opened the wickets, and he entered, and having stationed parties of his horse over different departments of the state, he proceeded to pay his respects to the Sultán’s mother, and she seated herself in the Hall of audience. At this time the commander of the troops at the capital, who was deeply implicated in the treason of the Brahman, finding his secret disclosed to the world, imme­diately repaired to the Syud, and boasting of his own fidelity and loyalty, and condemning the folly and treason of the Brahman, persisted in demanding that he should be imprisoned. The Syud, therefore, despatched a Chobedár* to summon Kishn Rao, to the Hall of audience or Durbar, and, as he, being aware of his danger, returned for answer, that it was unusual and unreasonable the Syud should send him orders, that he had nothing to do with him:— his answer confirming the suspicion before entertained of his treachery, the Syud ordered the persons present to proceed to his house and seize him, and they forcing their way into his house and breaking open the door of his apartment, which he had bolted, or secured in the inside, they with their swords and muskets put him to death, and threw his body into the drain of the bazaar, and his house was plundered, and the property found in it carried to the treasury. During the last moments, how­ever, of this fiend, he said,— “I have lighted up a fire, which as long as the Sultán lives will not be extinguished:”— this, alas, was but too true. His wife who was beautiful, faithful, and virtuous, of her own accord, despatched a message to the Queen, (<Arabic>) and sought refuge with her, and by the mediation of that veiled lady of the curtain of chas­tity, and honour, she was placed in the Haram Serai of the Sultán. Anotherperson has, however, told this story in a different way;— he states that when the villain Brahman, notwithstanding the favours and honours showered on him, was seeking the ruin of the Sultán; his virtuous wife becoming acquainted with his designs, and being disgusted at the base ingratitude and treachery of her husband, despatched a verbal message by her nurse to the Sultán’s mother, informing her of his absurd and foolish machina­tions:— and some, who say that the Sultán after the slaying of the traitor Brahman, tyrannically forced his wife to enter his Seraglio, make a false charge, and lying accusation, for at the time of the death of her husband, if she had not been willing to go to the Sultán, would she not under some pretence, or by some contrivance have put herself to death;*— but omitting this, could she not have made away with herself when sent for to the Haram.

But to return,— the Sultán after the departure of Syud Sáhib, appointed Kumr uddín Khán to command a body of ten thousand horse, that he should take every opportunity to attack and harass the army and baggage of the strangers, while he himself marched towards his capital to restore order there. The General in Chief of the English in the course of three days, despatched all his Bunjaras and Lemauns,* and his hired cattle to Amboor Gurh, and sending for all articles of neces­sity, such as stores of grain, bread, artillery, and ammunition, he marched by the route of Beed Mungul, and Maloor, to Bangalore. The Sultán’s Commander-in-chief marching towards the English army, gave orders to his Kuzzaks to disguise themselves so as to appear like the troops of the Nizám, and attack the rear guard of the enemy, which was composed of the Moghul or Nizám’s horse, and two regiments of English cavalry, and they like hungry lions among sleeping deer, fell on them and entirely defeated them, taking five thou­sand bullocks laden with grain, and two hundred Moghul horse. In short, every day the Sillahdárs, Kuzzaks, Afghans, and Dukkanees, threw them­selves like as the moth throws himself on the candle, on the pickets, and advanced parties of the two armies (the English and Moghul), and mul­titudes of men became the food of the unsparing sword, spear and musket, and the route of com­munication, and the passage of supplies to the enemy were completely shut and blocked up, so indeed that night or day, no one could quit their camp,— and as during the course of this conten­tion and warfare, by God’s assistance, from the exceeding bravery of the soldiers of the victorious army, great fear fell on the minds of the enemy, the pride and insolence in which they had indulged, because the Sultán did not oppose them in person, was now changed to fear and trembling, and they became timid, doubtful and suspicious.

We have now arrived at the point where it is necessary to describe the movements of Nizám Alí Khán and the Mahrattas. The chief of Hydurabád selected the town of Pangul for his fixed encampment, and despatched his Amírs to conquer the Sultán’s territory, and accordingly Mullik Eesau, Khán Meeran, Yar Jung, with his division of troops marched, and after the labours of some months, took the forts of Gunjee Kota, Tar Puttri, Tar Meeri, &c., and Háfiz Furíd uddín Khán, entitled Moyud ud Dowla, with a large force marched towards Gooti, and Kotub uddín Khán Dowlat Zai, the Foujdár of that district with his body of troops opposed him; on the first day, however, fortune did not befriend him, and he was obliged to retreat. The second day he formed up his men in front of the enemy and displayed great courage, but at that very time he was ordered to attend the Sultán, and, therefore, he marched with his troops to Seringaputtun. Háfiz, when he saw it was beyond the power of his followers to take the Hill Fort of Fyze Hissar, otherwise Gooti, levelled every thing in that district with the dust, and then returned and encamped at Kirpa, and after a short time, with little trouble took the town of Kirpa, and the fort of Sadhoot, and next with four thousand horse and five thousand foot, and eight or nine guns, he commenced the siege of Gooram Konda, and occu­pied himself day and night in endeavours to take the fort, but although he made several assaults and forwarded lying letters to (persons of) the garrison, still, the commanders of the hill and lower forts did not allow doubt or fear to enter their minds, but with different kinds of fire arms (shells, rockets, &c.) and the constant discharge of cannon and musketry, they blackened the face of the courage of their adversaries.