The next day the Emperor went to inspect the fort, and gave orders that its breaches and ruins should be repaired and rebuilt. During this inspection he came across some large cannon, and im­mense pieces of ordinance. They had been brought by sea by Sulai-mán Sulṭán the Emperor of Turkey, when he came with a large army intending to take possession of the ports of Gujrát; but afterwards on account of some adverse circumstances that army retired, and those cannon from that time were left behind (P. 146) on the river bank. At the time of the building of Súrat Khudáwand Khán Wazír brought most* of them into the fort, and the remainder the Governor of Júnágaṛh dragged into that fortress. The Emperor commanded that they should be removed from there, where so many were of no use, and be carried to the fortress of Ágrah.

They say that the reason for Khudáwand Khán's building this fort was, that the Portuguese used to exercise all kinds of animosity and hostility against the people of Islám, and used to occupy them­selves in devastating the country, and tormenting the pious. At the time of the commencement of the building they ceased not to throw the builders into confusion, firing continually at them from their ships, but they could not prevent them. The architects skilled in geometry and expert in subtleties carried the foundations of the centre of the fort down to the water, and also dug a moat of the same depth, and on the two sides of the fort which adjoined the land they built a wall of stone, adamant, and burnt brick. The length of the wall was thirty-five yards, and the breadth of the four walls of the fort was fifteen yards, and their height as well as the depth of the moat was twenty yards. The centres of each two stones were joined with iron clamps, and the interstices and joints were made firm with molten lead. The battlements and embrasures were so lofty and beautiful that the eye of the spectator was aston­ished at them. On the bastions which overlooked the sea they made a gallery, which in the opinion of the Europeans, is a speciality of Portugal and an invention of their own. The Europeans were very much opposed to the building of that Choukandí,* and endeavoured to prevent it by force of arms. But at last they resorted to peaceful measures, and agreed to pay a round sum of money, if they would leave off building the Choukandí. But Khudáwand Khán through his love and zeal for (P. 147) Islám gave the reins to his high spirit, and would not consent, and in spite of the Christians soon carried out his purpose of completing the building.

The very same day the Emperor delivered over the fort to the command of the son of Qulíj Khán, and on the 14th of Zí-qa'dah he returned to Aḥmadábád.

During the time of the siege several events took place. First of all, Mirzá Sharaf-ud-dín Ḥusain, who had been a wanderer for ten years, and had at last fallen into the hands of Bahár-Jiv, Rájah of the district of Baglána,* was bound and brought into the imperial presence. The Emperor was content with handing this ill-condi­tioned fellow over to the keeper of prisoners, after he had given him a severe reprimand. Next, while at the halting-place of Bahroṇch the mother of Chingíz Khán* came and demanded justice, and sued for retaliation against Jahjár Khán the Abyssinian, who had basely slain Chingíz Khán. After the circumstances had been investigated the murderer confessed, and the Emperor had him thrown under the feet of an elephant. Next, while the siege of Súrat was actually in progress, Ibráhím Ḥusain Mirzá after his defeat went from the station of Sarnál to the confines of Patan, and joined Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá and Sháh Mirzá. Here they thought of a plan for raising the siege of the fort of Súrat. Their scheme was as follows: Ibráhím Ḥusain Mirzá was to go towards Hindústán with a view to stirring up rebellion, while Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá together with Shér Khán Fúládí were to lay siege to Patan, so that the Emperor becoming uneasy concerning their movements should be obliged to come to Aḥmadábád. Meanwhile Sayyid Aḥmad Khán had shut himself up in Patan, and made a brave resistance. Then Quṭb-ud-dín Muḥammad Khán with all the renowned Amírs, who were the fief-holders of Málwah and Chandérí, went to the assistance of Sayyid Aḥmad Khán. And Rastam Khán and 'Abd-ul-Maṭlab Khán, and Shaikh Muḥammad Bokhárí of Dihlí came to Aḥmadábád, and together with A'zam Khán returned to Patan. Then (P. 148) Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá, and Sháh Mirzá, and Shér Khán Fúládí raised the siege, and falling in with them at 5 cosses from Patan they fought so fierce a battle that the memory of it will remain on the volume of history. The right wing of A'zam Khán attacked the vanguard of the enemy, and also threw their left wing into con­fusion, and the Amírs doing all that valour could require of them stood their ground firmly until the breeze of victory fanned the prosperous banner of the Emperor, and they dispersed the enemy like flakes of scattered clouds, and the soldier pursued in quest of plunder. But Khán i A'zam* with a few men did not move from his post, when suddenly like an unexpected calamity Shér Khán Fúládí (who was a great opium-eater, and had been delayed for a whole watch at the latrines through constipation, which like a hand­grip, is a necessary evil with opium-eaters) arrived with 2,000 or 3,000 horsemen, more or less, on the empty field after both sides had done fighting, and attacked Shaikh Muḥammad Bokhárí, who was still engaged with a few of the enemy, and confusion returned and Shaikh Muḥammad became the rose of the garden of victory:* —

“He made a pen of his sword from the point to the hilt,
It wrote in blood the dictum: He was not.”

Meanwhile Khán i A'zam moved from his place, and charged those men on all sides, so that Shér Khán having contrived to rejoin his friends took to flight. When they asked him, “Why did you kill the son of your superior?” he replied, “We heard that of the number of the leaders of the Moghuls Sháh Budágh Khan and one other through excessive valour would not leave the battle-field, under the impression that it was they, we attacked Shaikh Muḥammad; but certainly if we had known who it was, we should never have taken a step towards killing him.” Then Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá went towards the Dakkan, (P. 149), and Shér Khán took refuge in the fortress of Júnágaṛh, of which place Amír Khán Ghorí was governor. This victory took place on the 18th of the blessed month of Ramzán* in the year nine hundred and eighty (980). A'zam Khán leaving the fort of Patan in the old manner in charge of Aḥmad Khán Bárhah went to Súrat, and paid his homage to the Emperor. And Quṭb-ud-dín, and the other Amírs, having managed to hunt out of the jungles and forts Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk the Abyssinian (who had escaped from those to whom he had been given in charge as prisoner, and fled to Aḥmad-ábád* and joined the enemy, and after his flight had laid the foundation of rebellion, and seized several places), and having left stations and patrols in that district, at the time that the imperial camp came from Súrat to Maḥmúdábád joined the Court.