Meanwhile Bābur Mirza had not remained long in possession
of Herāt, having been driven from it by Yār-Ali, a
Turkomān chief. Bābur, however, retired slowly, and
with reluctance; and, returning soon after by forced
marches, came upon him by surprise in that capital, took
him prisoner, beheaded him in the public market-place, and
Recovers
all Khora-
sān.
succeeded in occupying all Khorasān. But repose was not
an enjoyment of those unquiet times. Before he could
establish himself in his new conquest, he was attacked and
Driven
from it
by his
brothers.
defeated by his two elder brothers, Alā-ed-daulat and
Muhammed Mirza, the kings of Fārs and Irāk. He retired
for some time to the strong fortress of Umad, whence he
took the field and defeated the governor whom Muhammed
Mirza had left in charge of Asterābād; but having been
closely followed by that prince, and overtaken before
he could gain the town, he found himself once more compelled
to seek safety in flight, and was fortunate enough
to escape back to his fastness. Muhammed Mirza did not
long remain in Khorasān. Disgusted with some circumstances
in the conduct of his brother, Alā-ed-daulat, he
withdrew to his own territories; whereupon Bābur once
Again re-
covers it,
and takes
Alā-ed-
daulat.
more issued from his retreat, drove Alā-ed-daulat out of
Khorasān, following him to Balkh, which he took, as well
as all the low country up to Badakhshān, where the fugitive
prince sought refuge. He then returned back to Herāt.
Alā-ed-daulat soon after fell into his hands.
This success of Bābur Mirza recalled his brother Muhammed
into Khorasān, in an evil hour. He met with a fatal
discomfiture, was taken prisoner, and put to death by
the command of Bābur;*
who, at the same time, to free
himself from all apprehensions from his surviving brother,
ordered the fire-pencil to be applied to the eyes of Alā-ed-daulat.
Orders Alā-
ed-daulat
to be
blinded.
The operation, however, from accident, or the
mercy of the operator, was imperfectly performed, and
Alā-ed-daulat did not lose his sight. Bābur Mirza, for the
purpose of improving his victory to the utmost extent, now
marched against Muhammed Mirza’s kingdom of Fārs.
He had made some progress in the conquest of it, when he
was recalled into Khorasān by the alarming intelligence
that Alā-ed-daulat had escaped from custody, and was
at the head of a numerous and increasing army. On his
return to Khorasān, he found the revolt suppressed, and
Alā-ed-daulat expelled from his territories; but Jehān
Shah, the powerful chief of the Turkomāns of the Black
Sheep, now descended from Tabrīz, and after occupying
Persian Irāk, pursued his conquests, and in a few years
subdued Fārs and the remaining territories of Muhammed
Mirza. To regain these provinces, Bābur Mirza led a
formidable army into Persian Irāk and Azarbaijān; but
had scarcely set his foot in the country when he learned
that Abūsaīd Mirza had entered his dominions from the
north. Enraged at this insult, he measured back his steps,
followed Abūsaīd across the Amu, and laid siege to Samarkand;
but after lying before it forty days, he concluded a
peace, which left the Amu or Oxus the boundary between
the two countries. Bābur then returned to Khorasān, and
1457.
Death of
Bābur
Mirza.
enjoyed several years of comparative peace. He was
carried off in the year 1457, by a disease originating in his
habitual excesses in wine.*
His death was the signal for Abūsaīd Mirza again to
attempt the conquest of Khorasān. From this enterprise
he was, however, recalled towards Balkh, by a revolt of
the sons of Abdallatīf Mirza, one of whom he slew, while
the other, Muhammed Jūki, took refuge in the deserts of
Tartary, with Abulkhair, one of the Khans of the Uzbek
principality of Tura, a part of the empire of Kipchāk that
lies to the east of the Ural mountains, and who dwelt in
summer towards the banks of the river Jaik, and in winter
on the Sirr.*
Abūsaīd soon after returned into Khorasān,
a great part of which he overran, and repressed the commotions
excited by the restless Alā-ed-daulat. But he was
glad to retire before the formidable irruption of Jehān
Shah, the Turkomān chief, who entered Herāt, which
was cruelly plundered by his troops. When the first fury
of the invasion was over, the Turkomāns began to divide
their forces. Abūsaīd, watching the opportunity, fell
furiously on Jehān Shah’s son, near Marghūb, defeated the
1458.
And con-
quers the
country.
detachment under his command, and compelled his father
to sue for a peace, and retreat from Khorasān. A treaty
was concluded, by which it was agreed that the town of
Semnān, which lies between Khorasān and Persian Irāk,
should be the boundary between the territories of these two
princes.
In these times of confusion, Sultan Hussain Mirza, a
prince of great talents, and who is often mentioned in the
Memoirs of Bābur, had fixed himself in the possession of
Asterābād and Mazenderān. He was descended from
Taimūr Beg*
by his son Omer-Sheikh Mirza. Not contented
with the peaceable enjoyment of the rich provinces which
he held, he had pushed on his plundering parties into
Khorasān as far as Sabzewār. Abūsaīd, having disengaged
himself of the Turkomāns, and defeated Alā-ed-daulat, who
had once more invaded his territories on the side of Meshed,
1459.
now marched to chastise Sultan Hussain Mirza. The contending
armies met, Abūsaīd was victorious, and, pursuing
Driven
from
Asterābād.
his advantage, entered his enemy’s capital, Asterābād, in
which he left one of his sons, Sultan Mahmūd Mirza.
But Abūsaīd was not yet destined to enjoy repose.
Muhammed Jūki, the son of Abdallatīf, and grandson of
Ulugh Beg Mirza, who, after his defeat, had fled, as has
been mentioned, to Abulkhair, the Khan of the Uzbeks,*
had meanwhile returned, accompanied by his new allies,
and was ravaging Abūsaīd’s territories beyond the Amu.
1460.
Retires be-
fore Abū-
saīd Mirza.
Abūsaīd once more hastened to Samarkand, and the
predatory bands of his enemies, on his approach, retired
beyond the Sirr. From the prosecution of this war,
Abūsaīd was recalled by the unwelcome intelligence of the
Sultan
Hussain
Mirza
recovers
Asterābād.
defeat of his son, Mahmūd Mirza, whom Sultan Hussain
Mirza had driven from Asterābād. Not contented with this
success, Sultan Hussain had advanced into the very heart
of Khorasān, and had even laid siege to the capital, Herāt.
The return of Abūsaīd speedily raised the siege. He
Again dis-
possessed
by Abū-
saīd,
who be-
sieges Shah-
rokhīa, and
takes Mu-
hammed
Jūki.
drove the Sultan out of his territories, and, following
him into his own, stripped him of all that he held in Jorjān
and Māzenderān.
This success enabled Abūsaīd to turn his undivided force to complete the destruction of Muhammed Jūki. He besieged that prince in Shahrokhīa, a strong and populous city on the Sirr, and, after a siege of one year,* took the place and his rival. Being finally disengaged of this enemy, he now returned across the Amu, where Sultan Hussain Mirza had availed himself of his absence to enter Khorasān. That active prince was once more compelled 1463. to fly, and sought shelter in Khwārizm. Abūsaīd, being now delivered from all his enemies, gave his attention, for some time, to the extension of his territories on the side of Sīstān and India by means of his generals, and to the settling of his extensive dominions. He soon after went to Merv, where he gave a splendid feast, which lasted five 1465. months, to celebrate the circumcision of the princes his sons. It was on this occasion that his son, Omer-Sheikh Mirza, Bābur’s father, received the government of Ferghāna, as is mentioned in the Memoirs.
1466.