Tooli Khan, after this exploit marched to Herat, where on his arrival he encamped in a meadow near the town, and despatched a vukeel, named Zumboor, to direct that the mullik ameers, kazies, &c. of the city should come out to make their submission to him, that they might not be destroyed. At that time Mullik Shums-ud-deen Mahommud Jorjani was governor of Herat, on the part of Sultan Julal-ud-deen, the son of Sultan Mahummud Khorazm Shah; as soon as he heard of the arrival of Tooli Khan, he began to prepare on all sides for his reception.
It is related, that at that period there were near 100,000 fighting men at Herat and in its vicinity.
When the ambassador of Tooli Khan arrived, therefore, the mullik put him to death, and said he hoped that day would never arrive when he should obey the commands of an infidel. Tooli Khan, on hearing of this barbarous action, immediately surrounded the city, and ordered every man taken to be put to death. In the seven days’ siege that followed, the Moghools made many attacks, and lost seventeen hundred men of rank and respectability; and Shums-ud-deen, the governor of the city, was also killed by an arrow from the Moghool assailants. The people of the city, however, now divided; the kazies and great men being desirous to surrender. It happened at this time, the eighth day, that Tooli Khan, having drawn up his troops opposite the Feerozabad gate, advanced to the ditch with a few men, and called out to the garrison that he was the son of Chungeez Khan, and that, if they wanted to preserve their lives and those of their families, they must surrender immediately; that they should only pay half the revenue they paid to Sultan Julal-ud-deen; and he also took an oath that these terms should be observed.
The people of the city, on hearing Tooli Khan’s propositions, immediately surrendered, and opened their gates; and Ameer Az-ud-deen Hervi, the chief of the cloth-weavers, first visited Tooli Khan, with a present of fine cloths, and after him all the chiefs and people in the city. Tooli Khan received them with kindness. However, twelve hundred men, who were the servants of Sultan Julal-ud-deen, were put to death; but no injury was offered to the other people of the city. Mullik Aboubuker Mursufi was appointed governor of Herat, with a Moghool named Mongtaie, as police-officer; and Tooli, after collecting his spoil, marched towards his father’s camp.
Mullik Aboubuker and Mongtaie governed Herat for some time to the satisfaction of all parties; but, as the destruction of this city was decreed by fate, after a short period intelligence was received there that Sultan Julal-ud-deen had arrived at Purwan, a town between Bamian and Ghizni, and that he had defeated the troops of Chungeez Khan and dispersed them. When this news arrived in Khorasan, there was a governor (foujdar), and a learned man or news-writer, on the part of Chungeez Khan, in each town. These were immediately murdered by the inhabitants, from a foolish belief that Chungeez Khan could not oppose Julal-ud-deen in the field. The people of Herat, also, having combined and rebelled, murdered Aboubuker and the Moghool foujdar Moongtaie, with all their followers; and they then made Mullik Mobariz-ud-deen Subzwari, who had just arrived from Feeroze Koh, their governor, and placed the government of the province in the hands of Khwajeh Fukhr-ud-deen Iraki, an experienced man: they also unanimously agreed to defend themselves against Chungeez Khan. When this intelligence reached Chungeez Khan he was much displeased, and severely reproached Tooli Khan for having spared the lives of the inhabitants of Herat; and then despatched Eeljudaie Noyaun, who is also called Eelchukdaie, with eighty thousand Moghools, to that city, and ordered him to spare no living creature in it. Eeljudaie marched in the month of Shuwal 618, and on reaching Herat encamped on the river there, where he ordered his men to prepare for the siege in one month. He was also joined here by fifty thousand men, horse and foot, from different parts of Khorasan.
In the city, Mullik Mobariz-ud-deen and Kwaja Fukhr-ud-deen, with other ameers, also prepared for the siege, and all agreed to die in defence of the place. Eelchukdaie, in about a month when he had completed his arrangements, surrounded the city with detachments of thirty thousand men each, threatening them with severe punishment if they did not do their duty, and promising them rewards if they did, and the siege commenced; the garrison and people of the town, who knew their lives would not be spared, fought with desperation, and the troops of the Moghools with their engines and naphtha, burned and destroyed all the buildings and defences of the town. In this way the siege continued for seven months, until, in the beginning of 619 Hejri, Eelchukdaie Noyaun made a great effort to take the city, and repeated his assaults day after day until from the force of his engines, upwards of one hundred feet of the wall gave way and at once fell down, and four hundred Moghools posted and entrenched themselves in the breach. The people of the city, however, in this state, defended themselves against the Moghools for three days; but at length, from the numbers in the city and total want of provisions they became divided into two parties; and on a Friday, in the month of Jumadi-ul Avul 619 Hejri, the Moghools entered the city by a ruined bastion, and Eelchukdaie ordered all the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, to be put to the sword; the Moghools afterwards destroyed the houses and defences, and filled up the ditch. It is related, that the Moghools were employed seven days in the massacre of the people, and the destruction of their habitations.
Eelchukdaie Noyaun, on the eighth day, departed from Herat and marched towards Kashghur, not leaving a vestige of the city; the spoil taken was sent to Chungeez Khan; on his arrival at Oobeh he detached one thousand horse to Herat, that they might put to death any of the inhabitants who might have hidden themselves or escaped.
It is related that, except Molana, Shurf-ud-deen Khatib Chugrutan, and fifteen other persons, not a soul was left alive in Herat. That after some time, twenty-four men of the Bulook tribe joined them, and that for fifteen years they were the only inhabitants of this once beautiful and populous city.
Thus, in the short period of three months, Men, Nishapoor, Herat, Toos, Subzwar, Jajurum, Nisa, Abyoor, Surkush, Kaf, and many other cities of Khorasan, having passed beneath the hoofs of the Moghool horse were trodden to dust, even to the borders of Sewistan.
Tooli Khan having destroyed the cities of Khorasan as above detailed,* returned towards Talikan and Budukhshan, where he joined his father, agreeably to his order.
About this time, also, Tooli Khan with the troops of Chungeez Khan, took the castle of Talikan, the people of which were treated according to the Moghool custom.