But all this seemed to be only a matter of style and form; for as soon as he was departed, the Ministers sensible of his dis­content, and resolved to be beforehand with him, dispatched in the greatest secrecy, to Mubariz-qhan-Nazem, or Military Governor of B8rhanp8r, a letter of the Emperor’s handwriting, An underhand war between the Emperor and Nizam-el-mulk. which gave him instructions to fight and kill Nizam-el-mulk, by any means in his power, informing him at the same time, that the patent of the Viceroyalty of Decan would soon follow. Mubariz-qhan finding himself supported by the Imperial power, and being of his own nature ambitious of the high preferments held out to him, resolved to fall on Nizam-el-mulk. He dis­covered his project to Hibrahin-qhan-péni, brother to the late Dä8d-qhan-péni, and to the families of Sheh Nizam and Sheh Minhadj, families of great power and influence all over the Decan, and which seemed to cherish in their bosoms a decided enmity against Nizam-el-mulk, and his overgrown power; and all these having confederated with Mubariz-qhan, enabled him to raise an army, well-appointed, capable of appearing in the field against such a formidable enemy. The General assembled his troops with dispatch, ranged them with skill, and marched to meet Nizam-el-mulk. The latter informed of his intention, and of his mighty preparations, hastened to encounter him; and the two armies joining battle on a Thursday of the month of Moharrem, in the year 1137 of the Hedjrah, a bloody engagement took place, in which A battle between Nizam-el-mulk and Mubariz-qhan in which the latter is slain. the Imperialists lost four thousand bravemen with four elephants left on the field of battle. Victory declared for Nizam-el-mulk; and Mubariz-qhan with his two sons and his best friends, being slain in the engagement, hastened into eternity. Nizam-el-mulk, after this victory, sent a supplication to the Emperor containing an account of the battle, with the number of those slain on Mubariz-qhan’s side, to which he added his congratulations on the victory of the Imperial troops, with a number of eshreffies,* usual as a Nuzur on such occasions, without omitting any part of the property seized in the vanquished camp.

Hitherto the dissatisfaction and dissensions between the court and Nizam-el-mulk, although well known and apparent, had been carried on under the mask of dissimulation and protrac­tion; but after this defeat of Mubariz-qhan, the veil was a little withdrawn, and the Emperor sent for Haïder-c8ly-qhan, whom he knew for a man of power and bravery, and one heartily attached to his cause. That nobleman, on this invitation, quitted Adjmir, and repaired to the capital, where on a Friday, the fourteenth of the second Reby, at about two astronomical hours after sunrising, he had the honour of paying his obeisance to the Emperor, who appointed him to the office of Mir-ateshy, or great Chamberlain and Superintendent of the Imperial household, a distinction to which was added another, that of being complimented for his Qhylaat with a dress of His Majesty’s own wearing. At the same time, the present incumbent of that important office, Saad-eddin-qhan, a T8ranian of Nizam-el-mulk’s recommendation, was dismissed. This Viceroy who was informed of all this, and trusted to his own power and to his late victory over Mubariz-qhan, wrote to Hamed-qhan, his maternal uncle, Governor of G8djerat, to commence hostilities, in combination with Silla-dji and Cunta-dji, two Mar­hatta Commanders, whom he engaged to make incursions into the Imperial territory. Hamed-qhan, on this intimation, beat the drum of independence, raised the standard of defiance with the motto: Who is this country’s owner to-day? and seizing on all the Djaghirs or appendages belonging to the several Grandees now at court, he dismissed their Stewards from their offices. The Ministers, informed of this, were holding councils amongst them­selves, where they agreed in nothing but in not coming to any conclusion at all, and in fixing on no scheme whatever. The Emperor, sensible that the T8ranians had grown too numerous and too powerful in the Empire, resolved to oppose the late Vezir, Abdollah-qhan, his prisoner, to their overgrown influence; and he sent him a trusty person to inform him “That the times were now become such that even he might be of some use to His Majesty.” Abdollah-qhan answered: “That if ever His Majesty should please to overshadow the head of his servant, by stretching over it the Imperial hand of clemency and forgiveness, he, his faithful servant, trusted, that as soon as he should be admitted to the honour of paying his respects to the presence, he would be able to assemble a good body of five or six thousand veterans, with which His Majesty’s Ministers might try his zeal by putting him upon any service they should devise.” This answer, unfortunately for Abdollah-qhan, was no sooner reported to the Emperor, than the enemies and jealous of that nobleman’s family, becoming fearful of the consequences of his being set at The prisoner Abdollah-qhan poisoned. liberty, found means to convey a dose of poison to that much injured Sëid, and to send him to his illustrious ancestors.

We have left Mubariz-el-mulk Ser-b8lend-qhan* dis­missed from his Government of Cab8l, and Nassyr-qhan promoted to that important office by Zaafer-qhan’s influence. The dispos­sessed General was now retired to his house in the capital, and but seldom appeared at court. However, on Abdollah-qhan’s repairing to the mansions of divine mercy, the Ministers resolved to avail themselves of Ser-b8lend-qhan’s abilities and character; and this advice was opened by the eunuch, Hafyz-qhydmet-car-qhan, upon whose attachment and sincerity the Emperor reposed the greatest confidence. It was resolved to send him against the revolted Hamed-qhan, and to confer for that purpose upon him the Government of G8djerat, where he was to receive every kind of support; but as Ser-b8lend-qhan had long been out of employment, and it was known that he had consumed his equi­page and all his savings, so as to be ill-fitted for taking the field,* a coror of rupees was sent him from the public treasury, together with the patent of the Government of G8djerat, and he received orders to chastise the revolted Hamed-qhan, and to recover that country. The General, who was sensible of the military talents of Nedjm-eddin-ally-qhan, brother to the late Abdollah-qhan, supplicated His Majesty for his liberty, and requested to have him for his companion. This request was granted with the better grace by the Emperor, as he had always thought kindly of Nedjm-eddin-aly-qhan, who had been the person sent to bring him away from the castle of Selimgar, and to conduct him to Ecber-abad. Nedjm-eddin-aly-qhan then was released from his confinement, and admitted to the honour of paying his obeisance to the Emperor, who complimented him with a Qhylaat, a sabre, and the title of Bahadyr or Valiant. Ser-b8lend-qhan, who was present at the ceremony, having received leave to proceed on his expedition, took Nedjm-eddin-aaly-qhan upon his own elephant, and they arrived together at the camp that had been pitched out of the city. There Nedjm-eddin-aaly-qhan soon assembled a body of Sëids of Bar attached to his family, and a quantity of cavalry that had served under him; insomuch that he soon found himself at the head of a respectable force. And as, on the other hand, Ser-b8lend-qhan, who had commanded in most provinces of the empire, was known to be a man of great character, and a friend to the soldier, numbers of officers, who even in their retreats had never ceased to be attached to his person, and to wish for the moment of his prosperity, hearing of his promotion, quitted to a man their dispersed homes, and Ser-b8lend-qhan appointed General from Court, beats Hamed-qhan. with what old soldiers they could influence, they flocked to his camp from all parts; so that in a little time he found himself at the head of a numerous well-appointed army. It was after so expeditious a junction that the two Generals thought proper to spend full four months on that part of the country where the road divides partly towards Adjmir and partly towards Acber-abad; for Ser-b8lend-qhan was continually fed with the hopes of being promoted to the Vezirship. But as the star that favoured the T8ranian party, was yet on its ascension, this design, which was pregnant with so many salutary effects, was dropped, and the army after so detrimental a delay, marched at last towards G8djerat by the road of Adjmir. In this interval of inaction Nedjmeddin-aaly-qhan, who had returned to the capital, where he had fallen sick, was, on his recovery, honoured with the Government of Adjmir, and ordered to attend Ser-b8lend-qhan, as his colleague.

Meanwhile the Emperor, disgusted with that spirit of intrigue and dissatisfaction, which Nizam-el-mulk had blown up amongst the T8ranians of the Court and Empire, had conceived suspicions against their whole body, as well as against every one of them, and his aversion increased to such a degree, that he resolved to dispossess them of all influence. Camer-eddin-qhan was the noble­man who first felt his displeasure. The Emperor suddenly took from him some governments and some offices which he as suddenly distributed to others. At the same time Saadet-qhan, an Iranian Lord, received leave to repair to his Government of A8d, where he applied himself to the business of bringing the country into subordination and order. But Ser-b8lend-qhan who had tarried a little more until his colleague, reduced to distress by his long confinement, should have so far recruited his finances as to appear in the field with something like an army and a suit­able equipage, thought now of marching against the revolted of G8djerat. So that a few days after that officer, who had been joined by the numerous friends of his family, and by his personal companions, followed his colleague, and at last effected his junc­tion with him. Whilst they advanced, Hamed-qhan, who had disregarded the good advices which Ser-b8lend-qhan had several times conveyed to him, found means to engage Conta-dji and Pila-dji, two Marhattas of the Cäicvar family, to follow his for­tunes, and he joined them to his own army, commanded by his Bacshy or Major-General, Aman-beg. But these combined troops having soon been encountered by Ser-b8lend-qhan, in person, they received a great defeat in which Aman-beg remained amongst the slain, after which the vanquished army dispersed. At the end of the battle Sheh-el-häyar the Belgramite, Paymaster to Ser-b8lend-qhan, who had been detached from the Imperial army, having got into the city of Ahmed-abad by one gate, he was taking possession of it, whilst Hamed-qhan was going out by the other, from whence he took shelter in Nizam-el-mulk’s camp. This Viceroy, little discouraged by such a check, engaged some other Marhatta Generals to join Hamed-qhan, and to make an invasion in G8djerat. But this invasion occasioned several bloody engagements, in which the Marhattas were constantly defeated by Nedjm-eddin-aly-qhan, who everywhere exhibited proofs of that valour which was hereditary in his family, and which he held from his glorious and holy ancestors.* At last matters came to a general engagement, in which Nedjm-eddin-aly-qhan with an army of sixty thousand horse, and a body of infantry, composed of Arabs, and some other strangers, supported by an artillery of some hundred pieces of cannon of all bores, attacked the Marhattas, gave them a complete defeat, pursued them for a long time, and never gave over the pursuit, or turned his horse about, until he had driven them beyond the Nerbudda. This great victory was obtained in the plains about Cambäet-bender (Cambaye), where the Marhattas left a vast number of dead on the field of battle. It had been preceded by an irrup­tion which they had made into the territories of Nugur and Pil-nugur, towns held by Camer-eddin-qhan in Djaghir, and they were actually occupied in sacking and plundering, when they were suddenly attacked by Nedjm-eddin-aly-qhan, and by Qhanè-zad-qhan, The Mar­hattas defeated in a bloody battle. son to Ser-b8lend-qhan. The Marhattas after this great victory, being pursued everywhere, evacuated every part of G8djerat. It must be observed that as the victorious army was numerous, it received monthly, a regular supply of five lacks from the capital, which sum was forwarded by Hafyz-qhydmet-car-qhan, that faithful friend of Ser-B8lend-qhan’s, and after his death, by Zaafer-qhan, the intent of which supply was to enable that General to go on briskly with his operations, without troubling himself with contributions; and it was determined to continue the same, until the country could be so far subdued and quieted, as to afford a sufficient revenue to support the victorious army. But on the news of the great victory obtained, the supply was stopped by the advice of Qhandö8ran, and an order was sent to dismiss such numerous troops as had become unnecessary. This order ruined that victorious army, and spoiled all the fruit expected from victory; for before that order had come, such was the dread which the Imperial power had spread universally, that the refractory throughout those countries, did not dare to look up to it but with respect and confusion.