Khwājeh Moulāna Kazi, the son of Sultan Ahmed Kazi,
was of the race of Sheikh Būrhān-ed-dīn Kilij,*
and by
the mother’s side descended of Sultan Ilik Māzi. He was
sprung of a religious family that had come to be regarded
as the protectors of that country. This family in some sort
held the office of Sheikh-ul-Islām*
by hereditary descent,
and will hereafter be often mentioned. The Kazi, and the
Begs who were in the castle, on hearing of our proceedings,
sent Khwājeh Muhammed Derzi, who was an old and trusty
household servant of Omer-Sheikh Mirza, and the Beg-atkeh
or governor of one of his daughters, to dispel our
apprehensions. He overtook us and made me turn, after
we had nearly reached the Īd-gāh, and conducted me into the
Is received
into the
citadel.
citadel, where I alighted. Khwājeh Moulāna Kazi and the
Begs having met in my presence, held a consultation; and,
after having mutually communicated their ideas, and
resolved on their plan, applied themselves to put the
fortress, with its towers and ramparts, in a state of defence.
Hassan Yākūb, Kāsim Kuchīn, and some other Begs, who
had been sent on an excursion*
to Marghinān and that
quarter, arrived a day or two after, and entered into my
service; and all of them, with one heart and soul, set themselves
zealously to maintain the place.
Sultan Ahmed Mirza, after having made himself master of Uratippa, Khojend, and Marghinān, advanced to Kaba,* within four farsangs of Andejān, and encamped. At this time one Dervīsh Gau, a man of note in Andejān, was capitally punished on account of some seditious expressions, an example which reduced all the rest of the inhabitants to their duty.
I now sent Khwājeh Kazi, Uzūn Hassan, and Khwājeh Hussain, as ambassadors, to Sultan Ahmed Mirza, with a message to this effect: ‘It is plain that you must place some one of your servants in charge of this country; I am at once your servant and your son; if you intrust me with this employment, your purpose will be attained in the most satisfactory and easy way.’ As Sultan Ahmed Mirza was a mild, weak man, of few words, who was implicitly guided in all his opinions and actions by his Begs; and as they were not favourably disposed to this proposition, a harsh answer was returned, and he marched forward.—But the Almighty God,* who, of his perfect power, has, in his own good time and season, accomplished my designs in the best and most proper manner, without the aid of mortal strength, on this occasion also brought certain events to pass, which reduced the enemy to great difficulties, frustrated the object of their expedition, and made them return without success, heartily repenting of their attempt.
Causes ofOne of these was the following: the Kaba is a black river and extremely slimy, insomuch that it can be only passed by a bridge: as the host was very numerous, there was a great crowding on the bridge, and many horses and camels fell over into the black water and perished. Now as three or four years before this the same troops had suffered a severe defeat at the passage of the river Chir, the present disaster recalled the former to their remembrance, and the soldiers of the army were seized with a panic. Another circumstance was, that, at this time, a disease attacked the horses with such violence that they were taken ill, and began to die in great numbers. A third circumstance was, that they found my soldiers and subjects so unanimous and resolute, that they perceived clearly that their determination was to fight to the last drop of their blood, and the last gasp of their life, without yielding, and that they would never submit to the government of the invaders. Disconcerted by these circumstances, after they had come within one farsang of Andejān, they on their part sent Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān,* who was met near the Īd-gāh by Hassan Yākūb, from the castle, when they conferred together and patched up a sort of a peace, in consequence of which the invading army retired.
Sultan In the meanwhile Sultan Mahmūd Khan had entered the
country on the north of the river of Khojend in a hostile
manner, and laid siege to Akhsi. Jehāngīr Mirza was in the
place, and Ali Derwīsh Beg, Mirza Kuli Gokultāsh, Muhammed
Bākir Beg, and Sheikh Abdallah the Chamberlain,*
were along with him. Weis Lāghari and Mīr Ghiās Taghāi
were also there, but, in consequence of some misunderstanding
between them and the other Begs, they withdrew
to Kāsān, which was Weis Lāghari’s government. As Weis
Lāghari was Beg-atkeh (or governor) to Nāsir Mirza, that
prince resided at Kāsān. As soon as the Khan arrived in the
neighbourhood of Akhsi, these Begs waited on him, and
surrendered Kāsān: Mīr Ghiās continued with the Khan;
but Weis Lāghari carried off Nāsir Mirza and delivered him
to Sultan Ahmed Mirza, by whom he was given in charge to
Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān. The Khan having approached
Akhsi, made several assaults on it, but without success; the
Begs and youth of Akhsi fought with distinguished valour.
but is
forced to
retreat.
At this crisis Sultan Mahmūd Khan fell sick, and being
besides disgusted with the war, returned to his own country.
Ababeker Dughlet Kāshghari,*
who acted as an independent
Ababeker
Kāshghari
invades
Ferghāna
on the east,
prince, and had for several years been Hākim of
Kāshghar and Khuten, was seized, like the rest, with the
desire of conquest, and had advanced to Uzkend, where he
constructed a fortress, and employed himself in plundering
and laying waste the country. Khwājeh Kazi and a number
of Begs were dispatched to expel him. When the army
but is
repelled.
approached, the Kāshgharian, who perceived that he was
unable to contend with it, applied to Khwājeh Kazi as
mediator, and contrived to extricate himself from his
situation with great address and cunning.
During these important events, the Begs and younger nobility, who had been about Omer-Sheikh Mirza, united resolutely, and displayed a noble spirit, being eager to devote their lives to the cause. They afterwards conducted the Mirza’s mother, Shah Sultan Begum, Jehāngīr Mirza, and the family in the haram, from Akhsi to Andejān, where they performed the ceremonies of mourning for him, and distributed food and victuals to the poor and to religious mendicants.
Bābur’sWhen delivered from these dangers, it became necessary to attend to the administration and improvement of the country, and to placing everything in proper order.* The government of Andejān, and the prime authority in the Court, were bestowed on Hassan Yākūb; Ush was given to Kāsim Kuchīn; Akhsi and Marghinān were entrusted to Uzūn Hassan and Ali Dost Taghāi; and each of the Begs and younger nobility of Omer-Sheikh Mirza’s court had a district, an estate, or portion of land assigned to him, or received some mark of distinction suited to his rank and consequence.*
Death of Meanwhile Sultan Ahmed Mirza, after having made two
or three marches on his return home, fell very ill, and being
seized with a burning fever, departed from this transitory
world, in the territory of Uratippa, just as he had reached
Middle of
July 1494.
the Aksū*
(or White river), in the middle of the month
Shawāl 899, in the 44th year of his age.
He was born in 855, the year in which Sultan Abusaīd Mirza came to the throne, and was the eldest of all his sons. His mother was the daughter of Urda Bugha Terkhān, was elder sister of Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān, and the most respected of the Mirza’s wives.
Figure andHe was tall, of a ruddy complexion, and corpulent.* He had a beard on the forepart of the chin, but none on the lower part of the cheek. He was a man of extremely pleasant manners. He wore his turban, according to the fashion of the time, in what was termed chārmāk (the four-plaited), with the tie or hem brought forward over the eyebrows.
His man-