Before he went to T'hat'hah, he called on A´çaf Khán to take leave, and A´çaf recommended to him the brothers of Mullá Muhammad of T'hat'hah, who had been a friend of A´çaf. Sháhbeg had heard before that the Mullá's brothers, in consequence of A´çaf's support, had never cared for the Governors of the province; hence he said to A´çaf, “Certainly, I will take an interest in their welfare, if they are sensible (sarhisáb); but if not, I shall flay them.” A´çaf got much annoyed at this, opposed him in everything, and indirectly forced him to resign.

Sh. B. was a frank Turk. When Akbar appointed him Governor of Qandahár, he conferred upon him an 'alam and a naqqárah (p. 50); but on receiving the insignia, he said to Faríd (No. 99), “What is all this trash for? Would that His Majesty gave me an order regarding my mançab, and a jágír, to enable me to get better troopers for his service.” On his return, in 1028, from Kábul, he paraded before Jahángír his contingent of 1000 picked Mughul troopers, whose appearance and horses created much sensation.

He was much given to wine drinking. He drank, in fact, wine, cannabis, opium, and kúknár, mixed together, and called his beverage of four ingredients Chár Bughrá (p. 60, l. 13), which gave rise to his nickname Chár Bughrá Khur.

His sons. 1. Mírzá Sháh Muhammad, Ghaznín Khán, a well educated man. Jahángír, in 1028, made him a Commander of One Thousand, 600 horse.

2. Ya'qúb Beg, son-in-law to Mírzá Ja'far A´çaf Khán (III) (No. 98), a Commander of Seven Hundred, 350 horse. The Maásir says, he was a fatalist (azalparast), and died obscure.

3. Asad Beg (Tuz. p. 275), a Commander of Three Hundred, 50 horse. The Maásir does not mention him.

The Tuzuk, p. 34, mentions a Qásim Beg Khán, a relation of Sh. B. This is perhaps the same as No. 350.

Sháhbeg Khán Arghún must not be confounded with No. 148.

58. Kha´n 'A´lam Chalmah Beg,* son of Hamdam who was Mírzá Kámrán's foster brother.

Chalmah Beg was Humáyún's Safarchí, or table attendant. Mírzá Kámrán had, in 960, been blinded, and at the Indus asked for permission to go to Makkah. Before he left, Humáyún, accompanied by some of his courtiers, paid him a visit, when the unfortunate prince, after greeting his brother, quoted the verse—

‘The fold of the poor man's turban touches the heaven, when a king like thee casts his shadow upon his head.’

And immediately afterwards he said the following verse extempore—

‘Whatever I receive at thy hands is kindness, be it the arrow of oppression or the dagger of cruelty.’

Humáyún felt uncomfortable and tried to console him. He gave next day orders that any of Kámrán's old friends might accompany him free to Makkah; but as no one came forward, he turned to Chalmah Beg, and said, “Will you go with him, or stay with me?” Chalmah Beg, though he knew that Humáyún was much attached to him, replied that he thought he should accompany the Prince in the ‘gloomy days of need and the darkness of his solitude.’ The Emperor approved of his resolution, and made liberal provisions for Kámrán and his companion.

After Kámrán's death, Chalmah Beg returned to India, and was favorably received by Akbar, who made him a Commander of 3000, bestowing upon him the title of Khán 'A´lam. He served under the emperor against the Mírzás in Gujrát, and was presesnt in the fight at Sarnál (p. 333, No. 27).

In the 19th year, when Akbar moved against Dáúd in Patna, Khán 'A´lam commanded a corps, and passing up the river in boats towards the mouth of the G'handak, effected a landing, though continually exposed to the volleys of the enemies. Akbar praised him much for his daring. In the same year he was attached to Mun'im's corps. In the battle of Takaroí (p. 375), he commanded the haráwal (van). He charged the Afgháns, and allowing his corps to advance too far, he was soon hard pressed upon and gave way, when Mun'im sent him an angry order to fall back. But before his corps could be brought again into order, Gújar Khán, Dáúd's best general, attacked the Imperialists with his line of elephants, which he had rendered fierce looking by means of black quṭáses (Yak tails) and skins of wild beasts attached to them. The horses of the Imperialists got frightened, nothing could make them stand, and their ranks were utterly broken. Kh. 'A´.'s horse got a sword cut, and reared, throwing him on the ground. He sprang up, and mounted it again, but was immediately thrown over by an elephant, and killed by the Afgháns who rushed from all sides upon him (20th Zí Qa'dah, 982).

It is said that before the battle he had presentiment of his death, and begged of his friends not to forget to tell the Emperor that he had willingly sacrificed his life.

Kh. 'A´. was a poet and wrote under the Takhalluç of Hamdamí (in allusion to the name of his father).

A brother of his, Muzaffar, is mentioned below (No. 301) among the Commanders of Three Hundred, where for <Arabic>, in my Text edition, p. 229, read <Arabic>.

59. Qa´sim Kha´n, Mír Bahr Chamanárái (?) Khurásán.*

He is the son of Mírzá Dost's sister, who was an old servant of the Tímúrides. When Mírzá Kámrán was, in 954, besieged in Kábul, Humáyún had occupied Mount Aqábín, which lies opposite the Fort of Kábul. Whilst the siege was going on, Qásim Khán and his younger brother, Khwájagí Muhammad Husain (No. 241), threw themselves down from a turret between the A´hanín Darwázah and the Qásim Barlás bastion, and went over to Humáyún, who received them with distinction.

Soon after Akbar's accession, Q. Kh. was made a Commander of Three Thousand. He superintended the building of the Fort of A´grah, which he completed “after eight years at a cost of 7 krors of tankahs, or 35 lacs of rupees. The Fort stands on the banks of the Jamnah river, E. of the town of Agrah, on the place of the old Fort, which had much decayed. The breadth of the walls is 30 yards, and the height from the foundation to the pinnacles 60 gaz. It is built of red sandstone, the stones being well joined together and fastened to each other by iron rings which pass through them. The foundation every where reaches water.”*