This year the forgiven Prince Aaly-tebar,* son to Aazem-shah, took his journey towards the mansions of divine mercy, it being the sixth of Moharrem, and he was buried close to his mother, Kirpa-p8ry,* in the mausoleum she had built for herself. On the twenty-fourth of the second Djemady, in the same year, the trust­worthy of the Empire, the Vezir Camer-eddin-qhan, and the Prince of Princes, Qhandö8ran, were both appointed to chastise the Mar­hattas. Both these heroes set out together, and after having fought the Marhattas for a long time together, they returned to the city together; and this expedition ended like that of Muzafer-qhan’s. On the return of these Generals to the capital, the accursed free­booters attacked and plundered the town of Sanbehr, which is only at a hundred cosses from Shah-djehan-abad. The Fodjdar of that place, by name Fahr8, to redeem himself and the town from sack and plunder, agreed to give them four elephants, and three lacs of rupees, with some other effects; and he punctually performed his part. But the freebooters after having been paid to the full, laid their hands upon his person, and plundered him so effectually, that he was left with no other property in the world, than the clothes on his back. The Cazy or Chief Justice of the place, unwilling to trust to those infidels, gave way to what they call in Hindostan, a point of honour, i.e., he put to the sword his consort, his children, and his whole family, and then taking to his arms, he with a few friends defended his house to the last drop of his blood; and it cannot be denied, but that he behaved valiantly, and performed feats of prowess and bodily strength. It was after such calamities all over the Empire, that the elements seemed to have conspired against the inhabitants of the capital. On the eighteenth of the second Reby, of the year 1148, in the evening of the Wednesday, a rain commenced that continued for A terrible rain of thirty hours. thirty hours together with so much violence, that most of the houses fell down in the capital, and the little stream at the Sera of Roshen-ârâ, rose to such a height, that several streams of five feet in depth, ran through all the streets; and news came that the city of Ecber-abad had likewise felt the same calamity at the same time.

Whilst the Empire laboured under the confusion we have mentioned, and every one was making his particular profit of the troubles to push his own point, no wonder that a Zemindar, i.e., a man restless and refractory by nature and by trade, should aspire at independence. Adjadj8, a Zemindar of the Checlaw of Corra, availed himself of the weakness of the Ministry to revolt against the Fodjdar of that district, under whose command he was; and having killed him, and plundered his effects, he more­over took possession of his family. The Fodjdar was no less a person than Djan-nessar-qhan, brother to the Vezir Camer-eddin-qhan. The latter shocked at the enormity of the crime, sent Azim-ollah-qhan, his kinsman, to punish the Zemindar, and to Flagitious enormity of a Zemindar. rescue the deceased’s family and consort from his hands. But Adjadj8 who was accustomed to mischief, and knew how far he had become obnoxious, quitted his usual residence to Azim-ollah-qhan, and retired to some part of his country which he knew to be of difficult access. This retreat having betrayed Azim-ollah-qhan into a mistake of the man’s being but of little consequence, he concluded that his commission was not an object worth his while, and he made only a short stay in the country, where he left Qhadjem-beg-qhan, a T8ranian, with some other commanders, whilst himself was repairing to the capital. But no sooner did Adjadj8 hear of the other’s departure, than become prouder than ever, he yielded to the violence of his temper, and quitting his strongholds, he suddenly fell upon Qhadjem-beg-qhan, and his troops, which he put to the sword. Camer-eddin-qhan, on hear­ing such an intelligence, was confounded; but being himself too deficient in personal courage and in firmness of mind to remedy evils of such a nature, he applied to Saadet-qhan, Governor of A8d, whom he entreated, if he had any regard for the Moghul name, and any zeal for the Mussulman religion, to come and chas­tise that turbulent sce??erat. Saadet-qhan, who was a man of personal prowess, and a jealous assertor of his religion, no sooner received the letter, than he resolved to undertake the expedi­tion. He was already upon his march to the capital on some other business, when receiving Camer-eddin-qhan’s letters he quitted the main road, and struck upon his right, with intention to chastise the Zemindar. The latter wanted to amuse this General also with fair words, but finding that the other would not catch at such a bait, and being besides a man of much pride and courage, as well as elated by his late successes, he resolved to stand his ground and to fight, and he only waited for the enemy’s arrival to commence the attack. It happened that the Viceroy fatigued with his day’s journey, was just retiring to his tent to take some repose, when Adjadj8’s spies, who were just at hand, went and informed their master that the Viceroy was a tall stout man, dressed in green, with a flowing white beard, and they added that he had just got into his tent. The Zemindar who just waited for such an opportunity, getting directly from out of his ambus­cade, presented himself at the head of his troops. On sight of this Saadet-qhan got upon his elephant, and was exerting himself in putting his troops in battle. He advanced with what people were at hand, and in the condition they were at that time. It happened that Saadet-qhan having stripped himself of his dusty clothes, had just put on a white apparel; and that one of the foremost of his commanders who advanced to engage, was Ab8-t8rab-qhan, the T8ranian, one of his ancient and best officers, who was that day dressed in green, and was remarkable by a long flowing white beard, as well as himself. Adjadj8 having spied that officer upon an elephant, took him to be Saadet-qhan himself, and with a number of bravoes that followed him, he ran on a full gallop to that part, and soon joined the elephant, when brandishing his spear, he gave the old officer such a violent blow, as pierced him through and through, the spear coming out at his back, and lodg­ing itself into the board of the häodah. Saadet-qhan’s foremost troops intimidated by the man’s prowess, and by the execution done by that select body which accompanied him, commenced to fluctuate, and to lose courage; when Saadet-qhan himself with a chosen band flew to their assistance, and after having discharged showers of arrows on him and his followers, he closed at once with him, and engaged sabre in hand. At this very moment a Gentoo officer, called Durdjun-sing, a relation of the Zemindar’s, but from a long time in Saadet-qhan’s service, having discovered the man, pointed him out to his master, and spurring his horse, The Zemin­dar is chastised. he engaged him with reproaches mixed with blows; and Adjadj8 receiving at the same time two wounds, one by a stroke from Durdjun-sing, and another by an arrow from Saadet-khan, fell down and was undertrodden. From this moment a zephyr of victory seemed gently to raise the drooping standards of that General; and the divine favour blowing in full upon his troops, gave his troops a complete victory. The victorious General took possession of the enemy’s camp, and ordered the Zemindar’s head to be sent to the Emperor, and his skin, stuffed with straw, to be presented to the Vezir; after which leaving to Abb8l-mans8r-qhan, his nephew and son-in-law, the greatest part of his troops, with the command of the country, he pursued his march to the capital, and on the seventh of Redjeb, in this same year, he paid his obeisance to the Emperor, to whom he presented a Nuzur of one thousand and nine eshreffies, with a curious poniard and sabre. The Emperor honoured him with a rich Qhylaat, to which he added a poniard and a sabre, enriched with jewels, a horse, and an elephant. Two months after, he was recalled to the field again by letters from Abb8l-mans8r-qhan, from Sheh-abdollah, and from some other commanders of his, who repeatedly informed him that the Marhattas, whom Adjadj8 had called to his assistance, were at hand.

About this time, it being the sixth of Zilcaad, in the same year, Yad-gar-qhan the Kashmirian, a particular friend of Qhandö8ran’s, and a shrewd, subtile, well-spoken man, was dispatched to Radja Djehi-sing-seväi, and to Badjiräo, the Marhatta Generalissimo, which latter had been heretofore sent by the Radja Sahoo, with orders to make conquests in Hindostan. The envoy was entrusted by the Emperor with a patent for the two provinces, Malva and G8djerat, which Badjiräo held already by the tenure of the sword, and with a commission to gain that General over to the Imperial service, by a promise of mighty honours and a variety of rewards. Radja Djehi-sing’s part was to act as mediator in this affair. It was in this same year and on the fourteenth of Zilhidj, at about three hours before midnight, that Zaafer-qhan departed his life, a Lord that had acquired a character for many valuable qualifications, but especially for his munificence and the benignity of his disposition. He had contracted an intimacy with Shah-bigah, a fakir, whom he had made the director of his conscience, having taken him for his tuteler saint, and submitted to his directions in every thing. But it is time now to leave those small occurrences (and, indeed, whatever came to pass at the capital had this long while ceased to deserve a better appel­lation); and let us turn our eyes towards those eastern parts of the Empire which, after having lain in obscurity and oblivion for such a length of time, now emerged at once to become a theatre fertile in those important events that have paved the way for the conquest which strangers have made in them, and which they have stretched as far as the neighbourhood of the capital of Hindostan. The scene opens at Azim-abad.