The Sultán passed along in front of his forces speaking words of encouragement, and all men offered up their prayers for him. Although he affected not to fear the vast force of his enemies, still, in his heart, he looked with apprehension on the weakness of his own army, and prayed to God for assistance. The enemy's numbers amounted to about 20,000 cavalry and 400,000 infantry. With all this enormous force the enemy were unable to force an action, but discharges of arrows were inter­changed. Heaven fought on the side of the Sultán, and such a storm of wind arose that the men were unable to open their eyes. Still, the brave men on both sides maintained a struggle. The Sultán, notwithstanding the weakness of his force, resolved to advance, and the whole army, making one vigorous and united charge, the enemy fled and took refuge in their fort. * * * The Sultán was thus left master of the field. He then held a council, and announced his intention to retire upon Gujarát and reinforce his army, but he added that if God spared him he would return again the following year and push his enterprize.

[Full account of what passed at the council, and of the de­termination to retreat into Gujarát to recruit, and return in the following year, when the crops would be ripe and grain plentiful.] The Sultán then gave orders for the march, which spread universal joy throughout the army. * * The Khán-i 'azam (Zafar Khán), who had under his command a large force of Bengálís, had charge of the rear. When the enemy found that the Sultán had retreated, with all his forces and baggage (as they supposed), towards Dehlí, they pursued. The first day the royal army made a march of ten kos, and the enemy coming up, a sharp encounter took place between them and Zafar Khán, in which they were repulsed. The heads of several Thatta men were cut off and sent to the Sultán. All the fleet of boats fell into the hands of the enemy, but the baggage was carried off with the army to Gujarát.

When Sultán Fíroz fell back victorious, grain, which was dear, became dearer; day by day it rose higher, and the state of the horses' feet is beyond description. Grain rose to one tanka and two tankas a sír, and even at that price was not to be obtained. Men, through craving hunger and helpless nakedness, could not pursue their way, and in their extreme distress gave up in despair. As no corn was to be procured, carrion and raw hides were devoured; some men even were driven by extreme hunger to boil old hides, and to eat them. A deadly famine reigned, and all men saw death staring them in the face. All the horses were destroyed, and the kháns and maliks were compelled to pursue their weary way on foot. Not one steed remained in the army, and by the will of God all ranks were reduced to the same state of destitution. The guides who led the way and conducted them, had maliciously misled them into a place called Kúnchí-ran. In this place all the land is impregnated with salt to a degree impossible to de­scribe, and if the water was held upon the tongue it crystalized.

When the army was thus reduced to the extremity of despair, the Sultán had one of the false guides beheaded. Then the others came honestly before him and said: “We have dealt falsely toward you, and have led you into a place where none but you could have survived; not even things which could fly in the air and drive along like the wind. This place is called Kúnchí-ran, and the sea is near. The saltness of the water arises from this proximity, and the district is deadly.” When the people heard these words of their guides, they gave themselves utterly up to despair. The Sultán ordered (the guides) to find fresh water for him and his followers, and to lead them away from this salt water. The water, indeed, was so excessively salt that all men were in amazement and despair. As far as the eye could reach, all was salt water. When, after endless labours and hardships, the wretched men found fresh water, they rushed into the middle of it. So excessive was the prevalence of salt, that if a pot of fresh water was placed upon the impregnated ground, the fresh water became salt, and no one could bear it on his tongue.

When with great difficulty and exertion they escaped from that salt country they came into a desert where no bird laid an egg, or flapped its wing, where no tree was to be seen, and where no blade of grass grew. If even a lethal weed had been wanted it could not have been found. No other desert, however fearful, could be compared with this. [Despair of the men and distress of the Sultán.] Four calamities had at once assailed them: famine, the necessity of walking on foot, the terrors of the deadly desert, and separation from beloved ones.

For six months no news of the army reached Dehlí, where every one, small and great, was in distress, believing that the Sultán and his army were lost. Khán-i Jahán, the wazír, by his great prudence and sagacity, managed to maintain order; and fear of him restrained all disposition to create disturbances. The fact of the disappearance of the Sultán and his army became known through all the country, and every house was filled with mourning. * * *

When Khán-i Jahán saw the perilous condition in which the country was placed, he removed all the Sultán's valuables from the palace to his own house, and issued numerous orders to restrain any exhibition of individual power. Every day he rode about the city displaying his own strength, but when he per­ceived that the rumour (of the king's destruction) gathered force from day to day, he feigned to have received a despatch from the Sultán announcing the safety of the royal person. This allayed all apprehension, and was the cause of great rejoicing, after which every one went on as usual with his own business. If kings had not wise and able ministers they could never leave their kingdoms, and never engage in conquest. [Eulogy of Khán-i Jahán.]

* * * In every march thousands of men and horses died. * * * At length the Sultán in his trouble prayed earnestly for rain, * * and God in his great mercy raised clouds in the sky. On every side they rolled up swiftly, cloud upon cloud; the rain fell, and the water-courses ran. All men drank and used the water, and were delivered from their trouble. On the same day a road of escape was discovered. * * *

As soon as he emerged from the desert the Sultán returned humble thanks to the Almighty, and then sent a despatch to Dehlí for Khán-i Jahán, “informing him of the safety of the Sultán and of all his army”* [which gave rise to great rejoicings in the capital].

Eighth Mukaddama.—Arrival of Sultán Fíroz in Gujarát.

The Sultán, on escaping from the desert, marched speedily with his army into Gujarát, and his men then rested from their troubles. At that time Amír Husain, son of the late Amír Míran, Mustaufí of the State, governed the country of Gujarát with the titles Maliku-sh Shark, Prince of the East, and Nizámu-l Mulk, Administrator of the State, and Nek-nám, of good repute. He was an active ruler, but when he waited on his sovereign, the Sultán demanded with much warmth why he had sent no supplies and assistance for the relief of the army, and why he had allowed the army to perish. He was dismissed from his government, and his estates were resumed. The Sultán remained in Gujarát recruiting his army. The irregulars* having received six, ten, and eleven (tankas?) from the kindness of the Sultán, in a short time they were all horsed. Under these circumstances Malik 'Imádu-l Mulk, one of the pillars of the State of Dehlí, took up the case of the regulars (wajh-dárs) and represented to his Majesty that the irregulars had by his bounty become mounted while the regulars, through great distress, were obliged to go on foot, and were in deep trouble and despair. Their villages were in the neighbourhood of Dehlí, while they were (far away and) in great distress. They had come into this country (of Gujarát) in straggling parties,* and how could they obtain anything from Dehlí—they were indeed in a pitiable con­dition. The Sultán replied that he knew his regular soldiers (wajh-dár) were in great distress and were reduced to go on foot through the hardships they had undergone. They had rendered him their aid, but their villages were far distant, and they had the greatest difficulty to get a handful of corn. Their children, too, required maintenance, so that they were in the greatest pos­sible difficulty. Under these circumstances he directed that loans should be advanced to them from the public treasury. In ac­cordance with this order every man received an advance, some of a hundred, some of seven hundred, and some of a thousand tankas; thus they obtained new outfits and remounts. Orders were also written to Khán-i Jahán at Dehlí, that no interference of any kind should be made in the villages of the regular soldiers, and that the officers of Government should be strictly enjoined to do them no harm, so that something might come to the soldiers and that their children might be maintained in comfort at home.