When in the year A. H. 764, I had attained my twenty-eighth year, the Valy of Systān, having entered into a war with some of his enemies, was defeated, lost several of his fortresses, and all his depots were plundered. He therefore wrote to beg my assistance, and “requesting that I would “deliver him from the hands of his oppressors, as he was without any other means “of redress” I soon after received a second letter from him, stating, “his utter “helplessness, but that if I would protect him, he would furnish provisions for “my thousand cavalry.” I consulted with Amyr Hussyn on this subject; he was desirous of going alone, hoping that he might thereby get possession of the fortresses for himself; I however consented, and appointed Bihram Jelayr to the command of his advance, but Hussyn had only made one march towards Systān, when Jelayr having no confidence in him, deserted, and went towards Hindūstan; Hussyn considering this as a bad omen, sent a messenger to inform me of the circumstance, and to request that I would join him with my troops, so that we might conjointly subdue the fortresses of Systān.
When we had turned our reins towards Systān, the (Valy) ruler of that province named Jelāl Addeen Mahmūd, performed the ceremony of meeting us, and presented me a number of rarities; on this account Amyr Hussyn was jealous, I therefore sent all the presents to him. The Valy also according to his agreement, furnished the provisions for one thousand cavalry, and made a solemn promise of fealty and attachment; as these promises seemed to be sincere, I resolved to assist him, and having made a suitable disposition of my troops, we commenced our march in regular order.
The mode that I determined on for subduing the fortresses of Systān, was this; the number of the forts which the enemies of the Valy had forcibly taken possession of, were seven. The first of these that we attacked, we took in one night and one day; our troops escaladed the walls and the bastions, and rushed into the citadel: we found a quantity of provisions in the fort, all of which Amyr Hussyn took possession of, and appointed his own governor. The second fort we attacked, the garrison came out and fought with us; as that country produced a quantity of underwood, I ordered our people to make fascinés, with which they advanced close to the walls, but the enemy, seeing this, called for quarter, and delivered up the fort; Hussyn again was before hand with me, and immediately appointed his own governor, and divided the plunder among his own people, and did not even give me thanks for my exertions.
When we went against the third fort, we arrived there in the middle of the night; as the fortress was situated in a sandy plain, I ordered the troops to dismount, and prepare their bows and arrows; we then advanced in silence close to the walls, and discovered that all the sentinels, except one, were asleep; my people threw their rope ladders on the battlements, and quickly mounted, and having subdued the garrison, brought them bound to me, and retained possession of the fort; all this took place before Amyr Hussyn arrived with his army.
When the Systān rebels saw our rapid success, they were much alarmed, and made overtures to their ruler, saying, “we have no objection to give up the remaining places to you, but if Timūr is permitted to take them, he will not only retain possession of them, but of the whole country.”* The Valy being thus alarmed by this intelligence, marched off without giving me any notice, and having reached his own home, and having been joined by all his other troops advanced against us. I drew out our army in three divisions, Hussyn took the command of the division opposed to the enemy’s right, the second division under charge of one of the officers, was opposed to their left, and the third division, consisting of my own troops, formed the first line, (Heravul) I placed the archers in front, and the cavalry with swords drawn in their rear; the archers poured in their arrows, and the cavalry, having made a furious charge, threw the enemy into confusion; I then, accompanied by twelve troopers, dashed in among them; at this time I was wounded by two arrows, one in the arm, the other in the foot, I was so much engaged, that I did not feel them at the time, but continued to fight, till the enemy fled. Having gained the victory, we turned our reins towards Gurmsyr; during the march, I said to Amyr Hussyn, “all this misfortune has been caused by your covetousness,” upon which he was much ashamed. I now thought it advisable to proceed to Gurmsyr, and remain there till my wounds should be cured; in the mean time, Amyr Hussyn might invade Bakelān, and subdue it. I therefore selected two hundred horse, and sent them with him, but counselled him to endeavour to make friends of the people of Bakelān, and if the army of the Jetes should oppose him, to avoid fighting them.
When Hussyn entered Bakelān, he conducted himself improperly, and gave no encouragement to the soldiers of that country, who offered to join him; he even disgusted his old servants by his avarice; he also felt so little fear of his enemies, that he began to collect wealth, and to accumulate riches.
At this time, Ajuny Beg, the brother of Beg Chuck, having placed an army of the Jetes in ambuscade, made an unexpected attack on Hussyn, and defeated him, so that he was obliged to flee with only four horsemen, and twelve footmen to the village of Sherkū. I was much vexed and hurt by this misfortune, and wished to go and drive the Jetes out of Maveralnaher, but I was obliged to remain quiet till I had recovered of my wounds: I then commenced arrangements for recovering that province; but at this period, my army was so much reduced, that I had only forty troopers remaining with me.
The first measure I proposed, was to take up my abode either in the valley of Arsuf, or the valley of Kuz, which were situated in the vicinity of Balkh, and having there collected an army, then to make an attack on the troops of Jetteh. In consequence of this resolution, accompanied by Timūr Khuajē Aghlān, who was the commander of my troops, I marched from Gurmsyr: on this occasion, Myr Mehedy, the Kelanter of that district, behaved to me with great attention, by preparing huts for the residence of those I was obliged to leave behind, and by supplying provisions for us all; being now satisfied in my mind, I set off with great celerity.
On examining my forty troopers, I found they were all people of good family, and not an ignoble person amongst them; I, therefore, returned thanks to God, that in my distress, so many persons of illustrious birth still remained attached to my fortunes, and was convinced in my own mind, that Providence intended me for some glorious actions, by having bestowed on me so many noble and disinterested friends.
At this time, Sadyk Berlās,* who was a descendant of Kerachār Nuyān, came out with a party to join me; when they were seen at a distance, my people supposed they were enemies that were come in pursuit of us; I therefore sent Subek Behader, who was the leader of my advance guard, to ascertain who they were; he soon returned and informed me, that it was Sadyk Berlās, who, with one hundred warriors, was come in search of me, I therefore advanced towards him, as he had been one of my intimate companions; as soon as he saw me, he was much affected, I was also much affected, as were all the persons present, and I prayed devoutly to God that he would grant me power to deliver Maveralnaher from the oppressions of the Jetes.
We then left our encampment, and proceeded towards the valley of Arsuf; during our march, a messenger arrived from Amyr Hussyn, requesting me to send some troops to escort him, and that he would rejoin me; I immediately sent off Sadyk Berlās with forty troopers to protect him, and requested that he would meet me at the valley of Arsuf. I then proceeded on my journey, and soon after saw a large party of troops, who had taken post on the top of a hill, and their numbers appeared to be constantly increasing; I therefore drew in my reins, and arranged my people in order of battle, resolving if they were enemies, to attack them; at the same time I sent off the leader of my advance guard with a party, to ascertain who they were; as he was a courageous fellow, he galloped up to the hill, and called out to them, “whose troops are you;” they replied, “we are the servants of Amyr Timūr, and are in search of him;” on this, my officer went and visited the chief, and shortly brought me word, that it was Keranchy Behader, one of my old servants, who with one hundred troopers had deserted from the Jete army, eighteen days ago, and was come to join me. I prostrated myself in gratitude to God for this favour, and gave orders for the chief being admitted. When he approached, I considered his coming as an auspicious omen, I therefore embraced him and placed my own turban on his head, we then proceeded towards the valley of Arsuf.*
During the march, two lions made their appearance, one of them a male, the other a female, I resolved to kill them myself, and having shot them both with arrows, I considered this circumstance as a lucky omen; that night we encamped in a wood abounding with grass and water, and having marched the next day, we arrived at some broken ground in the valley, adjoining to which, was a hill; I took up my quarters on the hill, from whence I could see a great distance all around, and as there was a rivulet running round the bottom of the hill, I ordered the troops to encamp on its bank. In this situation we remained for three days, constantly expecting the arrival of Amyr Hussyn. During this period, my warriors lived upon the game which we killed; at length I sent a party towards Balkh, with orders to search for a flock of sheep, and to bring them with their owners to me.
After two days, my people having found several flocks of goats and sheep, brought them with their owners to my encampment. The poor fellows were dreadfully frightened, but I paid them for the animals, with some Durusts (a small gold coin) that I had by me, and divided the males among the soldiers, but ordered the females to be kept for their milk and butter, of which I gave a daily portion to each person. When this trait of my justice was made known to the farmers of Balkh, they brought to my encampment, grain and all kinds of provisions, by which my troops were much refreshed.
Whilst we were waiting here in expectation of Amyr Hussyn, my people enjoyed themselves under the shelter of the hill and the bank of the rivulet, whilst I with my confidential friends, had a tent pitched on the top of the hill: on the fourteenth night, when the moon shone bright, I could not sleep, I therefore walked about, and when I returned to the hill, the day was beginning to break; I therefore prostrated myself in prayer, and as I was much affected, I supplicated the Almighty to deliver me from these toils, and render me successful and victorious;* I then employed myself in prayers to the Prophet and his descendants. After this I fell asleep, and dreamt that I heard some person say, “be patient, for victory is at hand;” I was so much rejoiced by this, that I awoke.
Just at this time, I saw from the hill at the distance of an arrow’s flight, a number of soldiers, who appeared to be coming from Balkh, and going towards Kumrūd; I feared they were enemies, but resolved I would go alone, and inquire who they were; I therefore mounted my horse, and having approached them, I asked, “whence come ye, and whither are ye going;” they replied, “we are the servants of Amyr Timūr, and have come out in search of him, but cannot find him, although we have heard that he has left Kumrūd, and is come to the valley of Arsuf;” I said, “I am one of the Amyr’s servants, if you wish, I will guide you to him:” when they had heard my words, one of them galloped up to the officers, and said to them, “we have found a guide who will lead us to the Amyr.” They then drew in their reins, and gave orders for my being brought to them; they consisted of three troops, the first of the officers was Tughluck Khuajē Berlās, the second, Syf Addeen, and the third, Tubuk Behader; when they saw me, they were overwhelmed with joy; they alighted from their horses, bent their knees, and kissed my stirrup; I also came down from my horse, and took each of them in my arms, and I put my turban on the head of Tughluck Khuajē, and my girdle, which was richly embroidered, I bound round the loins of Amyr Syf Addeen, and I clothed Tubuk Behader in my coat, and they wept, and I also wept, and the hour of prayer was arrived, and we prayed with tranquil minds; we then mounted, and came to my encampment, where we remained for some time; I assembled my principal people, and gave a feast, and having killed a quantity of game, we had abundance of meat, for which we returned thanks to God.
Having made the valley of Arsuf my head quarters, I sent out detachments on all sides, to gain intelligence, and enjoyed myself in the society of my friends. One day my spies brought information that a party of troops were advancing rapidly from Kumrūd; I immediately ordered my people to draw up in order of battle, and took post myself on the top of the hill, from whence I could clearly see a large party advancing rapidly: I said to myself, “God help us,” and having formed my troops into three divisions, I advanced at the head of one of them; presently I saw a horseman coming towards me at full speed, when he drew near, he alighted, and having bent his knee, said, “that the troops were those of Shyr Behrām, one of my old servants, who having left the army with an intention of going to Hindūstan, had repented, was on his return to me, begged pardon for his offence, and requested permission to pay his respects.” I accepted the apology, and advanced to meet him; when he came near, he hung down his head through shame, but I embraced him, and placed my own cap on his head, and bound my quiver about his loins; having reached my habitation, we alighted, and I made a great entertainment.
Four days afterwards, intelligence was brought that Sadyk Berlās, whom I had sent to escort Amyr Hussyn, was approaching the camp; I therefore mounted my horse, and went out to meet the Prince, having embraced, I led him to my tent, and we conversed on all the events that had occurred since our separation; after which, I gave him an entertainment: we remained for some time in the valley of Arsuf, and I sent spies to bring me intelligence of the Jete army.
At this time, I determined to seize the fortress of Aulajū, which was commanded by Munguly Bughai Selduz, to deposit my superfluous baggage there, and then make a sudden attack on the army of the Jetes. As Munguly Bughai was an old acquaintance of mine, I sent Shyr Behrām to him, to persuade him to come over to me; when Shyr Behrām came near the fortress, the governor sent a messenger to him to say, “although Amyr Timūr is my old acquaintance, yet as Alyas Khuajē (the Jete Commander) has entrusted me with the command of this fortress, how can I possibly be ungrateful for his Salt, and deliver the place to the Amyr.”*
So much good was however effected by this measure, that three hundred men of the tribe of Dulān Jun, who had formerly been in my service, came out and joined me, which induced Munguly to abandon the fort. From this place we marched to the valley of Sūf, and encamped there; at this time Aulum Aly and Mahmūd Shāh Kabuly, with two hundred well mounted cavalry, who were coming from Kandahār, encamped within two Fersukh of me; they immediately informed me of their arrival, and of the state of their affairs, in consequence of which, I mounted, and went out to meet them; they also mounted, and came towards me; as soon as they came near, they alighted, and bent their knees, I also alighted and stood till they had made their obeisance, after which, I bestowed a (Jamēh) coat on each of them, and brought them with me to my camp.
After we had remained some days in the valley of Sūf, I resolved to send Amlis Behader with two hundred cavalry to scour the country in the vicinity of Balkh, till my arrival; having despatched him, I sent Temūke Behader with three troopers towards Khūlke, to bring intelligence of the Jete army; that brave fellow attempted to swim his horse across the river at Termuz, but the horse having been drowned, he still effected his purpose, for having joined his relations, he obtained a very particular account of the Jetes, and without staying to visit his children, returned immediately to me in the valley; the information he brought was, that an army of twenty thousand Jetes had plundered all the country about Termuz; when I heard this news, I mustered my army, and found that it only amounted to one thousand cavalry; it therefore appeared to me advisable to go and encamp in the valley of Guz, on the bank of the river Jihūn (Oxus). In consequence of this determination, I marched from Sūf; the first day I encamped at Guz, but the second day I proceeded to the plain of Ilchy Bughā, which is situated on the bank of the Jihūn, and halted there. At this time, Amlis Behader, whom I had sent to plunder the country about Balkh, rejoined me.
At this time, I received letters from the Amyrs Soleyman Berlās, Jakū, Musa, Jelāl Addeen, and Hindukeh, stating, “that upon hearing of my arrival at the “valley of Arsuf, they had quarrelled with the Jete chieftains, and had arrived “with one thousand cavalry at Termuz; that they had sent Tukul Bughā across “the river to obtain information respecting me.” On hearing of the junction of these five celebrated officers, my troops were much exhilirated.
During this period, I received intelligence, that Munguly Bughai, who had abandoned the fortress of Aulajū, with Abu Saib, and Hyder Indēkhūdy, had offered the Jete Prince Alyas Khuajē, that if he would detach them from his army, they would come and seize both me and Amyr Hussyn, and bring us bound to his presence; that in consequence Alyas Khuajē had promised each of them the government of a country, and had detached them with six thousand cavalry; that they excited by cupidity, had arrived in the vicinity of Termuz, and had plundered and ravaged the country, thence they had proceeded to Balkh, where they had much oppressed the Muselmāns; on this account, all the hordes and tribes of that district had fled and crossed the river Jihūn, and were on their way to take refuge with me.