In this year also Sulaimán Kirarání, ruler of Bengál, who gave him­self the title of Ḥazrati A'lá, and had conquered the city of Katak-u-Banáras, that mine of heathenism, and having made the strong­hold of Jaganát'h into the home of Islám, held sway from Kámrú* to Oṛisá, attained the mercy of God. His son Báyazíd succeeded him; but in the course of five or six months he was slain by the Afgháns, and his brother Dá'úd bin Sulaimán attained the sovereignty.

In this year, or in the year preceding, that remnant of the saints, and essence of the pure, that illuminator of the thoughts of the heart, and examiner into the secrets of sin, that attracted pilgrim, the righteous (P. 164) in his acts, Shaikh Nizám-ud-dín Ambit'hi* -Wál (God sanctify his spirit!) attained translation from this miserable caravanserai to the eternal habitation. A summary of the events of the life of that possessor of Perfection and Ecstasy will be inserted (if God will) in the account of the Shaikhs of the period.

In the year nine hundred and eighty-one (981) the Emperor mounted a dromedary, to go and quench the fire of rebellion in Gujrát and to settle the affairs of those disturbances, and by forced marches went in the course of nine days from Fatḥpur to Aḥmadábád, and fought a battle with the army which was beseiging A'zam Khán in the fortress. He came off victorious, and returned to the Seat of the Khálifate.

The following is an epitome of those events. When the Em­peror came the first time after giving Aḥmadábád to Khán-i A'zam, the rebels raised a general revolt in that place and followed each his own devices. Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk* Gujrátí taking all the Abyssinians with him seized Aḥmadnagar and that neighbourhood; and Muḥam-mad Ḥusain Mirzá came from the Dak'hin and first of all endeavour­ed to reduce Súrat; but Qulíj Khán shut himself up in that place and succeeded in keeping him at bay and repulsed him. So he retired on Kambháyat* and took possession of that place. A'zam Khán marched himself against Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk. Several engage­ments took place between the two opposed forces between Aḥmad-nagar and Ídar, and the claim of victory was put to the arbitration of the sword. And he commissioned Nourang Khán, son of Quṭb-ud-dín Muḥammad Khán together with Sayyid Ḥámid to go toward Kambháyat against Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá. Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá in many fierce encounters showed time after time the greatest obstinacy and valour, but at last he suffered defeat and fled and joined Ikhtiyár Khán. (P. 165) The sons of Shér Khán Fúládí, and the son of Jahjár Khán Ḥabshí also helped to swell his numbers and to turn the balance of power in his favour. Their intention was to go by forced marches by a different route, and so reach Aḥmad-ábad. Khán-i A'zam outstripped them and got there first. Then he sent for Quṭb-ud-dín Aḥmad Khán from Bahroṇch, and not having full confidence in some of his men he shut himself up in the fortress. Then the Gujrátees with a force of nearly 20,000 men, consisting of Moghuls, Gujrátees, Afgháns, Abyssinians, and Rajpoots came and beseiged him. Skirmishes took place every day, and Fázil Muḥammad Khán, son of Rashíd Khán-i Kalán was slain in one of those en­counters. Khán-i A'zam kept sending daily dispatches to the Court, and urging the Emperor to come to his assistance. Accordingly he issued orders to the Díváns to supply with necessaries those Amírs who had gone with him on the former expedition, and to pay ready money from the imperial treasury to those soldiers who had served in the last campaign, which had lasted a whole year, and were now without accoutrements. To Ḥusain Qulí Khán he gave the title of Khán Jahán, and appointed him, with the Amírs of the Panjáb, to that province, and Sa'íd Khán he appointed to Multán, and sent them to their respective destinations. Shujá'at Khán he sent forward with camp equipage, and set out himself on Sunday the twenty-fourth of Rabí'us sání* mounted on camels fleet of foot and swift as the wind, and passing by way of Basáwar and Todah accomplished 100 cosses in two days. On the 26th of that month he arrived at Ajmír, at the blessed shrine of that Bestower of Splendour* (may the peace of the mighty God be on its inhabitants!), and attained the honour of paying a visit to that honoured shrine, and afterwards on the same day he continued his march. At the village of Báliyánah he reviewed the army, and settled the distribution of the forces. He gave Mirzá Khán,* son of the late Khán Khánán Bairam Khán, the command of the centre. (He is now the Khán Khánán and has been appointed to subdue the Dak'hin.) And (P. 166) Sayyid Maḥmúd Khán Bárha and Çádiq Muḥammad Khán and others he associated with him. The command of the right wing he gave to Núr Muḥammad Khán-i Kalán, that of the left wing to Wazír Khán, and that of the vanguard to Muḥammad Qulí Khán and Tarkhán Díwánah. He kept under his own command 100 horse, all veterans and picked men out of thousands. His whole force did not consist of more than 3,000 horse.

On Tuesday the 3rd of Jamáda'l- avval they arrived at the village of Karí, 20 cosses from Aḥmadábád. A detachment of the enemy issued from the fortress, and drew themselves up across the line of march of the emperial force. A battle took place, and in the twinkling of an eye the enemy became food for the sword and were annihilated. Since the Emperor had given no orders for the taking of the fortress, they pressed on 5 cosses further, and when the imperial cavalcade came up, they halted there to rest. Then the Emperor dis­tributed arms to the men from his private armoury, so that all might be fully armed. Áçaf Khán was sent in advance to open up communi­cations with Khán-i A'zam. At this time the enemy were steeped in the sleep of negligence. When they heard the sound of the trumpets, they rushed in confusion to mount their horses, and Mu-ḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá with two or three horsemen rode to the banks of the river to find out what it meant. It happened that Turk Subḥán Qulí had also gone down to the river from our side with two or three men. Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá asked him: “My lord, what army is that?” “The imperial army” he replied. The Mirzá said, “My scouts informed me to-day that they had left him fourteen days' march off at Fatḥpúr. If this be the imperial army, where are the elephants which always accompany it?” The other replied, “How could elephants (P. 167) travel a distance of 400 cosses by forced marches in nine days!” Then Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá commenced the attack with the army in battle array, after sending Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk with 500 horse against Khán-i A'zam to prevent his making a sally from the fortress. The imperial army crossed the river, but Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá anticipated them, and with 1,500 Moghuls belonging to Fidáí (who had already attained the title of Khán, and was on the look out for further promotion and jágírs, and was a man of great determination) charged the vanguard, where Muḥammad Qulí Khán and Tarkhán Díwánah were stationed, and swept them before him. The Abyssinians and Afgháns together charged the left wing, which was under Wazír Khán, and the warriors on both sides having come into contest a hundred lives were worth but a barley-corn:—

“Down to the fish* and up to the moon went
The foot of the standard and the knob of the tent.
The air became blue, and the ground black;
The river boiled at the sound of the drums.
With his finger he directed the army to the plain,
An army that knew no bounds.
The royal bow came to the string,
One said Take, and the other said Give.”

The battle raged so furiously that the event will be remembered for revolutions of generations and ages. Now, when the Emperor saw that his vanguard was giving way, he raised the cry “Yá Mu'ín!”* which at that period, and on that day, was his battle-cry, and making a desperate charge broke the ranks of the enemy, and dispersed them in the direst confusion: and many heads were scattered to the wind. Saif Khán Kokah at this juncture charged the ranks of the enemy, and plunged into that whirlpool from which he never rose again. Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá did all that mortal endurance is capable of in that valley of strife and gallantry, and was not even wounded. But at last his spirit exhausted itself, and his horse being wounded he fled from the field. His path happened to be intercepted by a hedge of thorns, which he endeavoured to make his horse leap, when suddenly (P. 168) inexorable Fate seized his reins, and dragging him from the saddle threw him to the ground. One Gadáí 'Alí by name, a Turkí who had been hotly pursuing him, immediately sprung upon him and took him prisoner and brought him to the Emperor. He with his usual kindness and good nature contented himself with reprimand­ing him, and delivered him over to the charge of Ráí Singh. Mean­while Wazír Khán was contending manfully with the Abyssinians and Gujrátees, and in this hand-to-hand contest displayed his hereditary valour. When the enemy heard of the defeat of Muḥammad Ḥusain Mirzá and Sháh Mirzá, they turned their backs on the field of battle, and valuing dear life more than the chance of conquering kingdoms saved their lives by fleetness of foot. At the same time Khán-i Kalan performed his part in the action by utterly defeating the sons of Shér Khán Fúládí. And so the field was cleared of all trace of the enemy:—