Instantly hands were laid on Begī āghā Bībī, condemned of fate to die, and she was torn in pieces. In consequence of this affair, Mīrzā Sulaimān and Mīrzā Ibrāhīm were displeased with Mīrzā Kāmrān, or rather they became his enemies. (76b) They wrote to the Emperor that Mīrzā Kāmrān wished to thwart him and that this could not be better seen than in his failure to go to Balkh with him.

After this the mīrzā, in Kūlāb,* could not find, in his terror-stricken thoughts, any better remedy than to become a darvish. He sent his son, Abū'l-qāsim (Ibrāhīm) to Mīrzā 'Askarī, and betook himself to Tāliqān with his daughter 'Āyisha (Sulān Begam), and said to his wife (Muḥtarīma Khānam): ‘Do you and your daughter follow me later. I will send for you to whatever place I settle on. Till then go and stay in Khost and Andar-āb.’ The khānam was related to the Uzbeg khāns, and some of her kinsfolk let the Uzbegs* know: ‘If you want booty, there are goods and men and women servants; take these, and let the lady go free, for if 'Āyisha Sulān Khānam's* nephew hears to-morrow (that she has been hurt), he will certainly be very angry with you.’ By a hundred plans and wiles, and with a hundred anxieties, and without her goods, she got free from the Uzbeg bondage, and reached Khost and Andar-āb. Here she stayed.

When Mīrzā Kāmrān heard of the royal disaster in Balkh, he said: ‘The Emperor is not so friendly to me as he was.’ (77a) So he left Kūlāb, and went hither and thither.

At this time (1550) his Majesty came out from Kābul. When he reached the Qibchāq defile, he incautiously halted in a low-lying place, and Mīrzā Kāmrān, coming from higher ground, armed and equipped, poured down foes upon him. Since such was the Divine will, a barbarian,—inwardly blind, an ill-fated oppressor and ill-omened tyrant,—inflicted a wound on the Emperor. The blow reached his bleassed head, and all his forehead and his dear eyes were stained with blood.

It was just like it was in the Mughal war when the blessed head of his Majesty Firdaus-makānī, the Emperor Bābar, was wounded by a Mughal, and his high cap and the turban wrapped round it were not cut, but his blessed head was badly hurt. His Majesty Humāyūn used to say with surprise: ‘I wondered at it, for cap and cloth were whole, and yet the head was cut.’* The very same thing happened now to his own head.

After the rout in the Qibchāq defile, his Majesty went to Badakhshān, and Mīrzā Hindal, and Mīrzā Sulaimān, and Mīrzā Ibrāhīm came and waited on him. (77b) He went* to Kābul and the mīrzās were in attendance, friendly and united and at peace together, when Mīrzā Kāmrān approached. His Majesty sent a message to Ḥaram Begam: ‘Ask my kīlīn* to send me the army of Badakhshān as quickly as possible and ready for service.’ In a few days, —a very short time,—the begam had given horses and arms to some thousands of men. She herself superintended and took thought and she came with the troops as far as the pass. From here she sent them forward, and while she went back they went on and joined the Emperor.

Either at Chārkārān or Qarā-bāgh there was fighting with Mīrzā Kāmrān and his Majesty's army was successful. The mīrzā fled to the mountain passes (tangayhā) and Lamghānāt.*

Āq Sulān (Yasīn-daulat) who was the mīrzā's son-in­law, said in effect to him (gufta bāshad): ‘You are con­tinually thwarting the Emperor. What is the meaning of it? It is not what should be. (78a) Either make your submission and obeisance to the Emperor or give me leave to go, so that men may distinguish between us.’ Mīrzā Kāmrān said fiercely: ‘Have my affairs come to such a pass that you offer me advice?’ Āq Sulān also spoke angrily, ‘If I stay with you, my position will be unlawful,’ and left him at once, and went with his wife (Ḥabība) to Bhakkar. The mīrzā wrote to Mīrzā Shāh Ḥusain, and said: ‘Āq Sulān has displeased me and has gone away. If he comes to Bhakkar, do not let his wife be with him. Part them and tell him to go where he likes.’ Shāh Ḥusain Mīrzā at once, on receiving the letter, deprived Ḥabība Sulān Begam of the company of Āq Sulān and let him depart for the blessed Makka.*

In the fight at Chārīkārān, Qarācha Khān* and many of Mīrzā Kāmrān's well-known officers were killed.

'Āyisha Sulān Begam* and Daulat-bakht āghācha were in flight for Qandahār, and were captured at the Khimār Pass, and brought in by the Emperor's people. Mīrzā Kāmrān went to the Afghāns,* and stayed amongst them. (78b)

From time to time his Majesty used to visit the orange-gardens. That year also, according to his old habit, he went to the mountain passes (tangayhā) to see the oranges. Mīrzā Hindāl was in attendance, and of the ladies (ḥaramān), there went Bega Begam, Ḥamīda-bānū Begam, Māh-chūchak Begam and many others. I could not go because my son, Sa'ādat-yār, was ill at the time. One day his Majesty, attended by Mīrzā Hindāl, was hunting near the mountain passes. They had very good sport. The Emperor went towards where the mīrzā was hunting and had made a very good bag. Following the rules of Chingīz Khān, the mīrzā proffered his game to the Emperor, for it is a rule of Chingīz Khān that inferiors should so act towards their superiors. In short, he gave the Emperor all his game. Then it occurred to him: ‘There is still my sisters' portion. (79a) They shall not complain again. I will hunt once more and get them a share.’ Again he busied himself in hunting, and had taken one head of game, and was returning, when someone sent by Mīrzā Kāmrān blocked the road, and shot an arrow at the unwitting mīrzā which struck his blessed shoulder. Acting on the thought ‘God forbid my sisters and womenfolk should be upset by news of this,’ he wrote off at once to say: ‘Ill begun has ended well!* Do not be anxious, for I am getting better.’ To finish the story: as it was hot, his Majesty went back to Kābul, and in the course of a year the arrow-wound got better.

A year later word was brought that Mīrzā Kāmrān had collected troops and was preparing for war. His Majesty also, taking military appurtenances, set out for the mountain passes (tangayhā) with Mīrzā Hindāl. He went safe and well, and made his honouring halt in the passes. Hour by hour, and all the time, spies kept bringing news: ‘Mīrzā Kāmrān has decided that an attack must be made to-night.’ (79b) Mīrzā Hindāl went to the Emperor and submitted his advice: ‘Let your Majesty stay on this high ground, and let my brother (nephew) Jalālu-d-dīn Muḥammad Akbar pādshāh stay with you, so that careful watch may be kept on this height.’ Then he called up his own men, and encouraged and cheered them one by one, and said: ‘Put earlier services in one scale and the service of this night in the other. God willing! whatever claim you can make, you shall be exalted to its degree.’* One by one he allotted their posts, and then called for his own cuirass and surtout, and high cap and helmet.

His wardrobe-keeper had lifted up the wallet when someone sneezed,* and he set it down for a while. Because of this delay, the mīrzā sent to hurry him. Then the things were brought quickly, and he asked: ‘Why were you so long?’ The man replied: ‘I had lifted the wallet when someone sneezed, and I therefore put it down. So there was a delay.’ (80a)