Vaqi'at-i Bāburī - The Memoirs of Bābur, Volume 1

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 901.³

SULTAN Hussain Mirza having led an army from Khorasān against Hissār in the winter season, arrived at Termez.⁴ Sultan Masaūd Mirza, on his part, also collected an army, advanced towards Termez, and took post in front of him, to prevent his crossing the Amu.^a Khosrou Shah, having fortified himself in Kunduz, sent his younger brother, Wali, to join Masaūd’s army.¹ Sultan Hussain Mirza spent the greater part of the winter on the banks of the river, without being able to effect a passage. Finally, however, being an experienced and intelligent general, and full of expedients, he marched up the river towards Kunduz; and, after having by this manœuvre put the opposite army off their guard, he dispatched Abdallatīf Bakhshi, who was an excellent officer, with five or six hundred chosen men, down to the passage of Kilif. Before the enemy were apprised of his motions, Abdallatīf Bakhshi had made good his passage with his whole party at the ferry of Kilif,² and fortified a position on the opposite bank of the river. When this intelligence reached Sultan Masaūd Mirza, in spite of the warmest instances of Khosrou Shah’s brother Wali, who strongly urged an immediate attack on that part of the enemy’s army which had passed, the Sultan Ma-
saūd Mirza
retires to
Hissār; Sultan, either from want of courage, or misled by the advice of Bāki Cheghāniāni,³ who hated Wali, would not march against them, but, breaking up in terror and confusion, took the road to Hissār. Sultan Hussain Mirza having passed the river, detached Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, Ibrahīm Hussain Mirza, Muhammed Wali Beg, and Zūlnūn Arghūn, without loss of time, against Khosrou Shah, and sent Muhammed Berenduk Birlās⁴ against Khutlān; whilst he himself advanced upon Hissār. On learning the news of and flees
thence to
Samarkand. his near approach, Sultan Masaūd Mirza no longer thought himself safe even in Hissār; but flying up the river Kamrūd,¹ by way of Siretāk, went to join his younger His chief
nobles
disperse brother Baiesanghar Mirza, in Samarkand. Wali drew off towards Khutlān; while Bāki Cheghāniāni, Mahmūd Birlās, and Sultan Ahmed, the father of Kūch Beg, fortified themselves in Hissār. Hamzeh Sultan and Mahdi Sultan, who, several years before, had separated themselves from Sheibāni Khan, and had been entertained in the service of Sultan Mahmūd Mirza, with a body of Uzbeks; and Muhammed Dughlet and Sultan Hussain Dughlet, who, with a band of Moghuls, had settled in the country of Hissār, all now, in this general dispersion, retired towards Karatigīn.

Sultan Hussain Mirza being informed of these proceedings, dispatched Abul Muhsin Mirza with a body of troops to the valley of Kamrūd, in pursuit of Sultan Masaūd Mirza. They overtook him at the pass, but were able to effect nothing of importance. Mirza Beg Feringi distinguished himself by his bravery. The Sultan also dispatched Ibrahīm Terkhān and Yākūb Ayūb with a considerable detachment, against Hamzeh Sultan and the Moghuls, who had taken refuge in Karatigīn. The detachment having overtaken them in that country, an engagement ensued, and Sultan Hussain Mirza’s troops were defeated. The greater part of the Begs were dismounted and taken prisoners, but afterwards suffered to Several of
them join
Bābur. depart. Hamzeh Sultan, Mahdi Sultan, and Māmak Sultan, the son of Hamzeh Sultan, Muhammed Dughlet, who was afterwards better known by the name of Muhammed Hissāri, Sultan Hussain Dughlet, and such of the Uzbeks as depended on the Sultans, along with the Moghuls who had settled in the country of Hissār, and who had been in the service of Sultan Mahmūd Mirza, after giving me due notice of their approach, came to May or
June 1496. Andejān, in the month of Ramzān. On this occasion I received them sitting on a tushak, according to the custom of the sovereigns of the house of Taimūr. When Hamzeh Sultan with Mahdi Sultan and Māmak Sultan entered, I rose to do them honour, and descending from the tushak, embraced them, and placed them on my right hand on a baghish.¹ A body of Moghuls, commanded by Muhammed Hissāri, also came and entered into my service.

Sultan Hussain Mirza having invested the fort of Hissār, encamped and busied himself, without rest or intermission, night and day, in running mines, in assaulting the fort, in battering it with shot² and planting cannon. Mines were run in four or five places. The mine which advanced towards the city-gate having made great progress; the besieged countermined, discovered it, and from above introduced smoke upon those in the mine:³ the besiegers, on observing this, instantly closed up the hole of the mine, This was no sooner effected than the smoke was forced back on the besieged, who were obliged to retreat in their turn, nearly suffocated. At length having brought pitchers of water, they poured them into the mine, and drove out the besiegers. On another occasion, a party of active warriors having sallied out from the fort, attacked a party of the besiegers who were stationed at the mine, and drove them off.

On the north side, again, where the Mirza in person was encamped, a battering piece was set a-going, which threw such a multitude of stones, that one of the towers was shaken, and fell about bed-time prayers. A party of warriors, with the greatest alacrity, asked permission to storm, which the Mirza refused to grant, alleging that the night was too dark. Before morning, however, the garrison had repaired the tower, so that then no attack was practicable. For two months, or two months and a half, nothing was attended to except pushing on the work, the running of mines, the raising of works¹ to overtop the wall, and discharging of stones.² There was no fine fighting.

Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, with the detachment sent by Sultan Hussain Mirza against Khosrou Shah, having encamped three or four farsangs below Kunduz, Khosrou Shah immediately armed and marched out of that place with such of his troops as he had left with him,^a3 and next morning came down upon Badiā-ez-zemān Mirza and his army; when that mighty body of Mirzas, and Begs, and Chiefs, who, with their men, if they were not double the number of Khosrou Shah’s party, were at least one and a half times the number, consulting only their own comfort and safety, did not dare to leave their trenches. Khosrou Shah’s force, good and bad, great and small, might perhaps amount to four or five thousand. And this Khosrou Shah, who, for the sake of this fleeting, unstable world, and for the vanity of being attended by a set of faithless servants, did so many bad actions, earned such a portion of infamy, and was guilty of so much tyranny and injustice; who seized so many extensive countries, and entertained so many adherents and soldiers, that, at last, his army amounted to twenty or thirty thousand men, while the countries and districts which he had occupied, exceeded in extent those of his sovereign and his Mirzas, in the whole course of his life, had only this one exploit to boast of, to entitle him or his adherents to lay claim to the praise of generalship or bravery; while those who did not venture out of their trenches from fear, became notorious for want of spirit, and their cowardice passed into a standing reproach.

Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, having decamped, halted after some marches at Talikān⁴ in the Ulugh Bāgh.⁵ Khosrou Shah remained in the fort of Kunduz, and sent his brother Wali with a chosen body of well-appointed troops to Ishkamish,¹ Fūlūl, and the skirts of that hill-country, to hang upon the rear of the enemy, and to harass them in their march. On one occasion Muhibb Ali Korchi, accompanied by a body of well-armed warriors, having fallen in with a party of the enemy on the banks of the river of Khutlān, completely discomfited them. On another occasion he again attacked a party of their troops, and returned, after dismounting some of their men, and cutting off a few heads. In emulation of these exploits, Sīdīm Ali Darbān, and his younger brother Kuli Beg, with Behlūl Ayūb and a party of spirited young men, having overtaken the army of Khorasān at Amberkoh, near Khwājeh Changāl,² charged them on their march, but without success; and Sīdīm Ali and Kuli Baba, with a whole body of their followers, were dismounted and made prisoners.

When news of these transactions reached Sultan Hussain Mirza, whose army, besides, was not without apprehensions on account of the spring rains of Hissār, he patched up a peace; in consequence of which Mahmūd Birlās having come out of the fort, and being met on the part of the besiegers by Hāji Pir Bekāwal with a few great lords; and such musicians and singers as were to be got being collected, the eldest daughter of Sultan Mahmūd Mirza by Khanzādeh Begum was given in marriage to Haider Mirza, who was the son of Sultan Hussain Mirza by Payandeh Sultan Begum, and grandson of Sultan Abusaīd Mirza by one of his daughters; after which the Sultan broke up from Hissār and took the route of Kunduz.

Having reached Kunduz, he drove in all the enemy’s parties,^a and set about making his arrangements for the siege; but Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza having interposed as mediator, a peace was concluded; and, all prisoners made on both sides being mutually delivered up, the army retired.

The elevation of Khosrou Shah, and all his subsequent doings, so much out of his sphere, were entirely owing to the two expeditions of Sultan Hussain Mirza to reduce him, and to the retreat of that monarch without effecting his purpose.

When Sultan Hussain Mirza reached Balkh, in order the better to watch the potentates of Māweralnaher,^a he gave Balkh to Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, and the province of Asterābād^b to Muzaffer Hussain Mirza; and made them both kneel at the same levee¹ for the grant of these provinces. This arrangement gave great offence to Badīa-ez-zemān,² and was the original cause of his engaging in a long series of rebellions and revolts.

In the same month of Ramzān, the rebellion of the Terkhāns broke out in Samarkand. It was occasioned by the conduct of Baiesanghar Mirza, who held much greater intercourse with the Begs and soldiers of Hissār, and behaved towards them with much more confidence and Baiesan-
ghar Mirza
unpopular
with them. familiarity, than he did towards those of Samarkand. Sheikh Abdallah Birlās was a Beg of high rank, and prime minister; such was the intimacy and attachment subsisting between his sons and the prince, that they had all the appearance of standing to each other in the relation of mistress and lover. This gave great offence to the Terkhān Begs, and to several of the nobles of Samarkand, so that in the end Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān leaving Bokhāra, Sultan Ali
Mirza pro-
claimed
king. brought Sultan Ali Mirza from Karshi,³ proclaimed him king, and advanced along with him to Samarkand to the New Garden,¹ where Baiesanghar Mirza then resided.^a Baiesan-
ghar seized, Having seized that prince by stratagem, they separated him from his servants and retainers, conducted him to the citadel, and put the two Mirzas in one place. About afternoon prayers they had a consultation, and came to the severe resolution of sending the Mirza to Gūk-serāi. Baiesanghar Mirza, under pretence of a necessary occasion, entered an edifice on the north-east of the palace gardens. The Terkhāns waited without at the door, while Muhammed Kuli Kuchīn and Hassan Sherbetchi entered along with but
escapes. him. In the back part of this house, into which the Mirza had gone under the pretence that has been mentioned, there was a door through which there had formerly been a passage out, but which had been closed up by bricks on edge. The young prince contrived to throw down some of the bricks, got out, effected his escape from the citadel on the Ghadfer^b side of the bastion, and, descending by the Aqueduct, threw himself over the dotihi² or parapet wall. He betook himself to Khwājeh Kafshīr, to the house of Khwājehka Khwājeh.³ Those who waited without, after a certain time, having entered to look after him, found that the Mirza had escaped.

Next morning the Terkhāns collected round the house of Khwājehka Khwājeh, demanding the prince; but the Khwājeh refused to deliver him up;^c while they, on the other hand, dared not seize him by force, the Khwājeh’s influence being too great to permit them to make such an attempt. After one or two days, Khwājeh Abul Makāram, The inhabi-
tants rise
and expel
the Ter-
khāns. Ahmed Hāji Beg, and some others of the Begs and soldiers, with a multitude of the townspeople rising tumultuously, brought away the Mirza from the Khwājeh’s house, and besieged Sultan Ali Mirza and the Terkhāns in the citadel, which they were unable to hold out for a single day. Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān escaping by the gate of the four roads, proceeded to Bokhāra; while Sultan Ali Mirza, with Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān, fell into the hands of the assailants.

Baiesanghar Mirza was in Ahmed Hāji Beg’s house when Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān was brought in. One or two questions were put to him, to which he gave no satisfactory answer; and indeed the business in which he had been engaged was not such as admitted of it. He was ordered to be put to death. He showed a want of firmness, and clung to a pillar;¹ but this did not save him, and he received Sultan Ali
Mirza sent
to Gūk
serāi; his punishment. Sultan Ali Mirza was ordered to be conducted to Gūk-serāi, and to have the mīl or fire-pencil applied to his eyes. The Gūk-serāi is one of the palaces which Taimūr Beg built;² it is situated in the citadel of Samarkand. It is remarkable on this account, that every prince of the race of Taimūr who is elevated to the throne, mounts it at this place; and every one who loses his life for aspiring to the throne loses it here. Insomuch, that it has passed into a common expression, that such a prince has been conducted to the Gūk-serai, a hint which is perfectly well understood to mean, that he has been put to death. Sultan Ali Mirza was accordingly carried to Gūk-serāi, and had the fire-pencil applied to his eyes; but whether it happened from the surgeon’s want of skill, or from intention, no injury was done to them. Without disclosing this circumstance, he went to Khwājeh Yahya’s³ but
escapes, house, and, after two or three days, fled and joined the Terkhāns at Bokhāra. From this period an enmity subsisted between the sons of the reverend Khwājeh Obeidullah, for the elder became the spiritual guide of the elder prince, and the younger of the younger. In a few days Khwājeh Yahya followed him to Bokhāra.

Baiesanghar Mirza, having collected an army, advanced towards Bokhāra against Sultan Ali Mirza; but when he arrived in the vicinity of that city, Sultan Ali Mirza and the Terkhān Begs, having arrayed their force, marched out, and a trifling action ensued, which terminated in favour of Sultan Ali Mirza, Baiesanghar Mirza being defeated. Ahmed Hāji Beg was taken prisoner, with a number of his best troops, the greater part of whom were put to death. The male and female servants and slaves of Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān, under pretence of revenging the blood of their master, put Ahmed Hāji Beg to a miserable death. Sultan Ali Mirza pursued Baiesanghar Mirza as far as Samarkand.

This intelligence reached me at Andejān in the month of Shawāl,¹ and in that same month I too mounted and set out with my army to attempt the conquest of Samarkand. As Sultan Hussain Mirza had retired from Hissār and Kunduz, and as Sultan Masaūd Mirza and Khosrou Shah had recovered from their alarm, Sultan Masaūd Mirza now likewise, on his side, advanced by Shehrsebz,² in order to assert his pretensions to Samarkand. Khosrou Shah sent his younger brother Wali to accompany the Mirza. For Samarkand
invaded on
three sides. three or four months Samarkand was thus beleaguered on three sides; when Khwājeh Yahya came to me from Sultan Ali Mirza, with proposals for an alliance and confederacy between us, and managed matters so successfully that a personal conference was agreed upon. I therefore moved with my army three or four farsangs,³ on the Soghd side of Samarkand,^a and he also came from the opposite direction with his army towards the same place. Sultan Ali Mirza then advancing on his side with four or five persons, and Baber’s
interview
with Sultan
Ali Mirza. I on mine with the same number, we had an interview on horseback in the midst of the river Kohik; and after a short conference,^a he returned towards his own side and I to mine. On that occasion I saw Mulla Banāi and Muhammed Sālih, who were with the Khwājeh. Muhammed Sālih I never saw except on this occasion; but Mulla Banāi¹ was afterwards for some time in my service.

After this conference with Sultan Ali Mirza, as the winter season was fast approaching, and great scarcity prevailed in the country of Samarkand, I returned to Andejān, and Sultan Ali Mirza to Bokhāra. Sultan Masaūd Mirza being deeply enamoured of the daughter of Sheikh Abdallah Birlās, married her; and renouncing his schemes of ambition, The in-
vaders all
retire. returned to Hissār. Nay, this was his only object in advancing against Samarkand.

About this time Mahdi Sultan fled from the territory of Shirāz and Kānbāi and went to Samarkand; and Hamzeh Sultan, having received my permission, also went from Zamīn and repaired to the same place.

THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE YEAR 902.²

DURING this winter the affairs of Baiesanghar Mirza had attained their most prosperous situation. Abdal Kerīm Ashret having advanced on the part of Sultan Ali Mirza to Mahdi
Sultan de-
feats Abdal
Kerīm. Kufīn and its environs, Mahdi Sultan issued from Samarkand with Baiesanghar Mirza’s light troops, and attacked him by surprise. Abdal Kerīm Ashret and Mahdi Sultan having met face to face, engaged each other with their scimitars. Abdal Kerīm’s horse fell with him, and,^b as he was in the act of rising, Mahdi Sultan struck a blow that severed his wrist; after which he took him prisoner and completely defeated the invaders. These Sultans, however, perceiving that the affairs of Samarkand and the court of the Mirzas were in complete disorder, availed themselves of their foresight and went off to join Sheibāni Khan.^a

Elated by the issue of this skirmish, the men of Samarkand assembled and marched out in array to meet Sultan Ali Mirza. Baiesanghar Mirza advanced to Sir-e-pul, and Sultan Unsuccess-
ful attempt
to surprise
Bokhāra. Ali Mirza to Khwājeh Kārzīn. At this same time, Khwājeh Abul Makāram, with Weis Lāghari, Muhammed Bākir, and Mīr Kāsim Duldāi, who were of the Begs of Andejān, acting on the advice of Khwājeh Murād,^b set out one night with a party of the household and retainers of Baiesanghar Mirza, intending to surprise Bokhāra. Before they reached the city, however, the people of Bokhāra were alarmed, and the attempt failed; so that they were obliged to return back without effecting anything.

In my conference with Sultan Ali Mirza, it had been settled that, in the summer, he should advance from Bokhāra, and I from Andejān, to form the siege of Samarkand. According to this agreement, in the month of Ramzān, I mounted, and proceeded from Andejān to Yār-ailāk, where, having received information that the Mirzas were lying front to front, I dispatched Tūlūn Khwājeh Moghul, with two or three hundred skirmishers, to advance on them with all expedition. By the time that they got near, Baiesanghar Mirza being apprized of our approach, broke up and retreated in great disorder. The detachment, that same night, having overtaken their rear, killed a number of men with their arrows, took a great many prisoners, and acquired much booty. In two days I arrived at the fortress of Shirāz,¹ which at that time belonged to Kāsim Duldāi. The commandant whom he had left in the place not being able to maintain it, delivered up the fortress, June 2,
1497. which I committed to the charge of Ibrahīm Sāru. Next morning, after having performed the prayers of the Īd i fitr,¹ I proceeded towards Samarkand, and halted in the fields of Abyār.² The same day, Kāsim Duldāi, Weis Lāghari, Hassan Nabīreh, Sultan Muhammed Sighel, and Sultan Muhammed Weis, with three or four hundred men, came and entered into my service. Their story was, that, as soon as Baiesanghar Mirza began his retreat, they had left him, and come to offer their services to the king. I afterwards discovered, however, that, at the time of parting from Baiesanghar Mirza, they had undertaken to defend the fortress of Shirāz, and had set out with that intention; but that, on discovering how things stood with regard to Shirāz, they found that there was nothing left for it but to come and join me.

When I halted at Kara-būlāk, many straggling Moghuls, who had been guilty of great excesses in different villages through which they had passed, were seized and brought in. Kāsim Beg ordered two or three of them to be cut to pieces, as an example. Four or five years afterwards, during my difficulties, when I went from Masīkha to the Khan, Kāsim Beg found it necessary to separate from me on account of this very transaction,³ and went to Hissār.

Marching from Kara-būlāk, I crossed the river, and halted near Yām. The same day, some of my principal Begs attacked a body of Baiesanghar Mirza’s troops on the khiabān⁴ (or public pleasure-ground) of the city. In this skirmish, Sultan Ahmed Tambol was wounded in the neck with a spear, but did not fall from his horse. Khwājehka Mullā-i-sadder (or chief judge), who was the elder brother of Khwājeh Kalān, also received an arrow in the neck, and, on the spot, departed to the mercy of God. He was a man of worth. My father had shown him marks of regard, and appointed him keeper of the seal. He was a man of learning, and had great knowledge of language. He excelled in falconry, and was acquainted with magic.¹ While we were in the vicinity of Yām, a number of persons, both traders and others, came from the town to the campbazar, and began to traffic, and to buy and sell. One day, about afternoon prayers, there was suddenly a general hubbub, and the whole of those Musulmans were plundered. But such was the discipline of my army, that, on my issuing an order that no person should presume to detain any part of the effects or property that had been so seized, but that the whole should be restored without reserve, before the first watch of the next day was over, there was not a bit of thread or a broken needle that was not restored to the owner.

Marching thence, I halted at Yuret-Khān,² about three kos to the east of Samarkand. I remained forty or fifty days on this station; and during our stay there many sharp skirmishes took place on the khiabān (or pleasure-ground of the city), between our people and the townsmen. In one of these actions, Ibrahīm Begchik received a sabre wound in the face, from whence he was always afterwards called Ibrahīm Chāpuk (or Slashed-face). On a different occasion, in the khiabān, at the bridge over the Moghāk,³ Abul Kāsim Kohbur laid about him with his piāzi⁴ (or mace) in grand style. At another time, and also in the khiabān, in the vicinity of Ternau, there was a skirmish, in which Mīr Shah Kuchīn distinguished himself with his mace, but received such a dreadful wound from a scimitar, that his neck was half cut through; the arteries, however, luckily were not separated.

While we remained at Yuret-Khān, the townspeople treacherously sent a man, who was instructed to tell us, that, if we would come by night on the side next the Lover’s Cave, they would deliver the fort into our hands. Seduced by this promise, we mounted at night, and advanced by the bridge over the Moghāk, whence we sent on a small party of chosen horse, with some foot soldiers, to the appointed place. The people of the town seized and carried off four or five of the foot-soldiers, before the rest were aware of the treachery. They were most active men. The name of one of them was Hāji, who had attended me from my infancy. Another was Mahmūd Gundalasang. They were all put to death.

While we remained in this station, so many of the townspeople and traders came from Samarkand, that the camp was like a city,¹ and you could find in the camp whatever is procurable in towns. During this interval the inhabitants surrendered to me the whole country, the castles, the high lands and low, except the city of Samarkand. A small body of troops had fortified the castle of Urgut, at the foot of the hill of Shavdār, which obliged me to decamp from Urgut
surrenders. the Yuret, and march against them. Being unable to maintain the place, they availed themselves of the mediation of Khwājeh Kazi, and surrendered. I received their submission, and returned to invest Samarkand.

This same year, the misunderstanding that had previously subsisted between Sultan Hussain Mirza and Badīa-ez-zemān came to an open rupture. The circumstances are as follows: In the course of last year, Sultan Hussain Mirza had given Balkh to Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, and Asterābād to Muzaffer Hussain Mirza, and had received their submission¹ on receiving the grant, as has been mentioned. From that time down to the present, a number of ambassadors had been coming and going between them. Ali Sher Beg himself had at last been sent as ambassador, but, with all his endeavours, he could not prevail on Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza to give up Asterābād to his younger brother. That prince asserted, that, at the circumcision of his son Muhammed Mūmin Mirza, the Mirza had made him a grant of it. An incident^a one day occurred between the Mirza and Ali Sher Beg, which equally proves the Mirza’s sagacity and presence of mind, and the acute feelings of Ali Sher Beg. Ali Sher Beg had repeated a good many confidential circumstances in a whisper to the Mirza, and, when he concluded, said, ‘Now, don’t forget what I have mentioned’.^b The Mirza, on the spot, answered, with apparent indifference, ‘Pray, what was it you mentioned?’ Ali Sher Beg was deeply affected, and cried bitterly.

At last, the discussion between the father and son came to such a pitch, that the father marched against the father, and the son against the son,² towards Balkh and Asterābād.

Sultan Hussain Mirza advancing up the country, and Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza marching down, the two armies encountered below Garzewan,³ in the meadows of Yekchirāgh. May 3,
1497. On Wednesday the first of Ramzān, Abul Hassan Mirza, and some of Sultan Hussain Mirza’s Begs, having pushed on with a detachment of troops as a plundering party,^c Badīa-ez-
zemān Mir-
za defeated. routed Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza after what could hardly be called an action. Many young cavaliers of his party were taken prisoners. Sultan Hussain Mirza ordered the whole of them to have their heads struck off. Nor in this instance alone; on every occasion when any of his sons rebelled and was defeated, he uniformly ordered every one of their adherents who fell into his hands to be beheaded. And why not? he had right on his side. These Mirzas were so extravagantly addicted to vice and pleasure, that, regardless of the approach of their father, a prince of great wisdom and experience, who had come from such a distance,^a and regardless of the holy and blessed month of Ramzān, of which only a single night had been enjoyed; without any reverence for their father, and laying aside the fear of God, they only thought of drinking wine and revelling in wantonness. But most certain it is that such conduct inevitably leads to destruction; and that they who so demean themselves will inevitably fall before the first attack.^b Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza had held the government of Asterābād for several years. During all that time, the young cavaliers, both in that place and its environs, were all arrayed in gay and gallant attire.^c He had many arms and accoutrements^d of silver and gold, much furniture of rich cloth, with innumerable Tipchāk horses. All these he now gave to the wind. In his flight by the rugged mountain route, he came on a dangerous precipitous road, which they descended with great difficulty. Many of his men perished at this precipice.

After the defeat of his son, Sultan Hussain Mirza advanced to Balkh, which Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza had left in charge of Sheikh Ali Taghāi, who found nothing left for it but to surrender the fortress. Sultan Hussain Mirza having given Balkh to Ibrahīm Hussain Mirza, and left with him Muhammed Wali Beg and Shah Hussain Chihreh, himself returned back to Khorasān.

Badiā-ez-zemān Mirza, after his defeat, being in great distress, and stripped of everything, accompanied by such Takes re-
fuge with
Khosrou
Shah. of his men old and young,^a horse and foot, as still adhered to him, proceeded to Kunduz to Khosrou Shah, who gave him a handsome reception, and did him all manner of service. He was so liberal in equipping the Mirza and all that accompanied him with horses, camels, tents, pavilions, and military furnishings of every description, that such as saw them confessed that there was no difference between their former and present arms or accoutrements, excepting that they were not mounted with gold and silver.

As some misunderstandings and differences had arisen between Sultan Masaūd Mirza and Khosrou Shah, occasioned by the ungovernable ambition of the latter,^b he now sent his brothers Wali and Bāki, accompanied by Badiā-ez-zemān Mirza, to attack Sultan Masaūd Mirza in Hissār. They were not able to approach the fortress, but, in the environs and vicinity, there was some sharp sword-play on both sides. On one occasion at Kūsh-khāneh,¹ on the north of Hissār, Muhibb Ali Korchi, having pushed forward and advanced in front of the rest of the troops, distinguished himself by his bravery. At the moment when he was unhorsed and taken prisoner, his own party made a push and rescued him. A few days after, a hollow peace was concluded, and the army retired.

Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza soon afterwards set out, by the mountain route, towards Kandahār and Zamīn-dāwer,² to Zulnūn Arghūn and his son Shah Shujaa Arghūn. Zulnūn, in spite of his avarice and stinginess, gave the Mirza a good reception.³ He presented him with forty thousand sheep as a single peshkesh.⁴ It is a very singular circumstance that His son
Muhammed
Mūmin de-
feated and
taken
prisoner. Muzaffer Hussain Mirza defeated Muhammed Mūmin Mirza at Asterābād on the very Wednesday on which Sultan Hussain Mirza defeated Muhammed Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza; and what adds to the oddity of the coincidence is, that Chārshembeh (Wednesday) was the name of the person who dismounted and made Muhammed Mūmin Mirza prisoner.

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 903.¹

WE now encamped behind the Bāgh-e-meidān,² in the meadow of Kulbeh.³ On this occasion the men of Samarkand, both soldiers and townsmen, sallied out in great numbers on the side of Muhammed Chāp’s bridge, and came upon us. As my people were off their guard, before they could put themselves in a posture of defence, the enemy dismounted Sultan Ali Baba Kuli and carried him off into the town.

A few days after, we marched and encamped on the hill of Kohik, on the side of Kulbeh.^a That same day Syed Yūsef Beg came out of Samarkand, and having waited upon me at this station, entered into my service. The men of Samarkand, when they saw us on our march from the one station to the other, fancying that I had taken my departure, rushed out in great numbers, both soldiers and citizens, and advanced as far as the Mirza’s bridge; and poured out by the Sheikhzādeh’s gate as far as Muhammed Chāp’s bridge. Orders were immediately issued for the cavaliers who were on the spot, to arm without loss of time, and to charge the enemy on the two flanks, both towards the Mirza’s bridge, and towards Muhammed Chāp’s bridge. God prospered our proceedings—the enemy were defeated. Numbers of Begs and horsemen were dismounted and taken prisoners. Among these were Muhammed Miskīn and Hāfiz Duldāi.¹ The latter was wounded with a sabre, and had his fore-finger cut off. Muhammed Kāsim Nabīreh, the younger brother of Hassan Nabīreh, was dismounted and taken. Many other officers and fighting men of some note and distinction were also brought in. Of the lower order of townspeople there were taken Diwāneh, a jāmeh-weaver,² and one nicknamed Kilmasuk, who were notorious as the chief ringleaders of the rabble, in fighting with stones and heading riots.^a They were directed to be put to death with torture, in retaliation for the foot-soldiers who had been slain at the Lover’s Cave.

The defeat of the men of Samarkand was decisive; from that time forward they never sallied out, and matters came to such a pass, that our people advanced right up to the edge of the ditch, and carried off numbers of male and female slaves close under the walls.

The sun had now entered the sign of the Balance,³ and the cold was becoming severe. I assembled the Begs and held a consultation, when we agreed, that the townspeople were reduced to great distress; that, with the blessing of God, we were likely to take the place in a very few days; but that, as we were exposed to great inconvenience from being encamped in the open country, we should for the present break up from before the city, and construct winter quarters for ourselves in some neighbouring fort; that then, should we finally be obliged to draw off, we might do Retires to
Khwājeh
Dīdār. so without confusion. The fort of Khwājeh Dīdār seemed the fittest for our purpose. We therefore marched from our position, and halted in a plain^b in front of Khwājeh Dīdār. After visiting the fort, and marking out the ground for the huts and houses, we left workmen and overseers to go on with the work, and returned to our camp. During several days, while the houses for the winter quarters were building, we remained encamped on the plain. Meanwhile Baiesanghar Mirza sent repeated messengers into Tūrkestān¹ to Sheibāni Khan, inviting him to come to his assistance. As soon as the erections in the fort were finished, we took up our quarters in it.

The very next morning Sheibāni Khan, who had hastened by forced marches from Tūrkestān, advanced and presented Sheibāni
Khan ap-
pears before
Khwājeh
Dīdār himself before my cantonments. My army was in rather a scattered state, some of my people having gone to Rabāt-Khwājeh-Ameh, some to Kābid, others to Shirāz, for the purpose of securing proper winter quarters. Without being dismayed by these circumstances, however, I put the forces which were with me in array, and marched out to meet the enemy; when Sheibāni Khan did not venture to maintain his ground, but drew off towards Samarkand, and halted in its environs. Baiesanghar Mirza, disappointed on finding that Sheibāni Khan could not render him the effectual assistance which he had hoped for, gave him but an indifferent reception; and, in the course of a few days, Sheibāni but returns
to Tūrkes-
tān. Khan, seeing that nothing could be done, returned back in despair to Tūrkestān.

Baiesanghar Mirza had now sustained the blockade for seven months, and had placed his last hope in this succour. Disappointed in this too, he resigned himself to despair, and, accompanied by two or three hundred hungry and naked wretches, set out for Kunduz to take refuge with Khosrou Shah. In the environs of Termez, while he was passing the river Amu, Syed Hussain Akber, the Hākim or Governor of Termez, who was related to Sultan Masaūd Mirza, and high in his confidence, having received notice of his motions, advanced against him. The Mirza himself had just passed the river, but several of his men and horses that had fallen behind,^a were taken. Mīrim Terkhān perished in the stream. One Muhammed Tāher, a boy of and takes
refuge with
Khosrou
Shah. Baiesanghar Mirza’s, was taken prisoner. Baiesanghar Mirza met with a good reception from Khosrou Shah.

No sooner had Baiesanghar Mirza fled from Samarkand, than I received notice of the event. We instantly mounted and set out from Khwājeh Dīdār, for Samarkand. On the road we were met by the chief men of the city, and by the Begs; and these were followed by the young cavaliers, who all came out to welcome me. Having proceeded to the citadel, I alighted at the Bostān Serai;¹ and, towards the The end of
November
1497. end of the month of the first Rabīa,^a by the favour of God, I gained complete possession of the city and country of Samarkand.

In the whole habitable world there are few cities so pleasantly situated as Samarkand. It is situated in the fifth climate, in lat. 39° 37', and long. 99° 16'.² The city is named Samarkand, and the country Māweralnaher.³ As no enemy has ever stormed or conquered it, it is termed the protected city.⁴ Samarkand embraced Islām in the reign of Osmān the Commander of the Faithful, through the means of Kāsim-ibn-Abbās, who visited the city. His tomb is close by the Iron-gate, and is at present denominated Mazār-i-Shah, or the Shah’s tomb.⁵ The city of Samarkand was founded by Sikander.⁶ The Moghul and Tūrki hordes term it Samarkand.⁷ Taimūr Beg made it his capital. Before Taimūr Beg, no such great monarch had ever made it the seat of his government. I directed its wall to be paced round the rampart, and found that it was ten thousand six hundred paces in circumference.⁸ The inhabitants are all orthodox Sūnnis, observant of the law, and religious. From the time of the Holy Prophet, downwards, no other country has produced so many Imāms and excellent The
eminent
theologians
of Māweral-
naher. theologians as Māweralnaher. Among these is the great Imām Sheikh Abul Mansūr Materīdi, the eminent scriptural expositor, who was of the quarter of Materīd in the city of Samarkand. There are two sects of scriptural expositors, or Aimeh Kelāmi, the one called Materīdīah, the other Ashaarīah. This Sheikh Abul Mansūr¹ was the founder of the sect of Materīdīah. Another man of eminence was the Sāhib Bokhāri,² Khwājeh Ismāel Khertank, who was also of Māweralnaher. The author of the Hidāyah,³ too, a work in jurisprudence, than which according to the sect of Imām Abu Hanīfeh, there is none of greater or of equal authority, was of Marghinān in Ferghāna, which is likewise included in Māweralnaher, though it lies on the farthest bounds of the populous cultivated country.

On the east it has Ferghāna and Kāshghar; on the west Bokhāra and Khwārizm; on the north Tāshkend and Shahrokhīa, which are usually written Shāsh and Benāket; rivers, and on the south Balkh and Termez. The river Kohik flows to the north of Samarkand, and passes at the distance of two kos from the city. Between the river and the city there is a rising ground called Kohik⁴; and as the river flows close by the base of this hillock, it thence gets the name of the river of Kohik. A great stream, or rather a small river, separating itself from the Kohik, flows on the south of Samarkand under the name of the river Derghām. It may be about a sharaa kos from Samarkand, and the gardens and suburbs of Samarkand lie on its banks.^a The whole country as far as Bokhāra and Kara-kūl, which is an extent of nearly forty farsangs, is covered with population, and the fields cultivated by irrigation from the river Kohik; which, large as it is, barely suffices for the drains made on it for the cultivation of the fields, and for the use of palaces and country houses; insomuch that, for three or four months during the summer heats, the waters do not reach fruits, Bokhāra. The fruits of Samarkand of every species, especially the grapes, melons, apples, and pomegranates, are of excellent quality, and produced in great abundance. Samarkand is, however, particularly famous for two kinds of fruit, the apple and a species of grape named Sāhibi.¹ Its winter is severe, but less snow falls than at Kābul. It has a fine climate, but its summer does not equal that of Kābul.

There are many palaces and gardens that belonged to Taimūr Beg and Ulugh Beg,² both in Samarkand and the suburbs. Taimūr Beg built, in the citadel³ of Samarkand, a stately palace, four stories high, which is famous by the name of Gūk-serāi.⁴ There are many other magnificent edifices. One of these is the grand mosque,⁵ which is situated near the Iron-gate, within the walls of the city, and built of stone. A number of stone-cutters were brought from Hindustān to work on it.¹ In the frontispiece over the portico of the mosque is inscribed the verse of the Korān, wa iz yarfa’u Ibrahīm al kavāidah,² &c., in characters of such a size that they may be read nearly a kos off. It is a very grand building. To the east of Samarkand there are two gardens. The one, which is the more distant, is called Bāgh-e-buldi (or the Perfect Garden); the nearer, Bāgh-e-dilkushā (or the Heart-delighting Garden). From the Bāgh-e-dilkushā to the Firozeh gate³ there is a khiabān (or public avenue), planted on each side with pine-trees.^a In the garden of Dilkushā, there has also been built a large kiosque or palace, in which is a series of paintings, representing the wars of Taimūr Beg in Hindustān. There is another garden, on the skirts of the hill of Kohik, on the banks of the Āb-e-siāh (black-water) of Kanegil, which they call Āb-e-rahmet (or the Water of Mercy), and this is denominated Naksh-e-jehān (the Miniature of the World). When I saw it, it had fallen into decay, and nothing worthy of notice was left. On the south of Samarkand lies the Bāgh-e-chenār (the Plane-Tree Garden), which is in the immediate vicinity of the city.^b Lower down than Samarkand are the Bāgh-e-shimāl (or Northern Garden), and the Bāgh-e-behisht (or Garden of Paradise⁴). Muhammed Sultan Mirza, the son of Jehāngīr Mirza, and grandson of Taimūr Beg, founded a college just as you go out of the stone fort^a of Samarkand. The tomb of Taimūr Beg, and the tombs of all such of the descendants of Taimūr Beg as have reigned in Samarkand, are in that college.

Among the edifices erected by Ulugh Beg Mirza are the college and monastery, or khānkah,¹ which stand within the fortifications of Samarkand. The door of the convent is of great magnitude, and, indeed, scarcely to be equalled in the world. In the vicinity of this college and convent there is an excellent set of baths, known by the name of the Mirza’s baths. The floor is paved with stones of every sort in chequer-work.² There are no baths to equal them in all Khorasān or Samarkand.

On the south of this college is situated a mosque, which is called Mesjid-e-Makatta (or the Carved Mosque), because its timbers are curiously carved³ with ornaments and flowers of various kinds, and the whole of the walls and roof are adorned in the same manner.^b The direction of the kibleh⁴ of this mosque is very different from that of the college; and the probability is, that the kibleh of the former was adjusted by astronomical observation.

Another remarkable edifice is the observatory, erected on the skirts of the hill of Kohik, which is provided with an astronomical apparatus,^a and is three stories in height. By means of this observatory, Ulugh Beg Mirza¹ composed the Zīj-Kurkāni (or Kurkāni Astronomical Tables), which are followed at the present time, scarcely any other being used. Before they were published, the Ilkhāni Astronomical Tables were in general use, constructed by Khwājeh Nasīr² in the time of Hulākū, in an observatory built at Marāgha. Hulākū Khan³ was also denominated Ilkhāni. Not more than seven or eight observatories have been constructed in the world. Among these, one was erected by the Khalīfeh Māmūn,⁴ and in it the astronomical tables entitled Zīj-Māmūni were drawn up. Another was built by Batalmiūs.⁵ Another was the observatory erected in Hindustān, in the time of Raja Bikermājīt, a Hindū, in Ujein and Dhār, in the kingdom of Mālwa, now known as the kingdom of Māndū. The Hindūs still follow the astronomical tables which were then constructed. Since the building of that observatory till the present time¹ is 1,584 years. These tables are, however, more imperfect than any of the others.

At the foot of the hill of Kohik, on the west, there is a garden, named Bāgh-e-meidān (the Garden of the Plain), in the middle of which is a splendid edifice, two stories high, named Chihil-sitūn (the Forty Pillars). The pillars are all of stone. In the four turrets in the corners of this building, they have constructed four Guldestehs,² or minarets, the road up to which is by these four towers. In every part of the building are stone pillars curiously wrought; some twisted, others fluted, and some with other peculiarities. The four sides of the upper story consist of open galleries, supported by pillars all of stone; and in the centre is a grand hall or pavilion, likewise of stone. The raised floor of the palace is all paved with stone. Towards the hill of Kohik there is a small garden, wherein is a great open hall, within which is a large throne of a single stone, about fourteen or fifteen gez in length, seven or eight in breadth, and one in height. This huge stone was brought from a great distance. There is a crack in it, which it is said to have received since it was brought to this place. In this garden, there is another state pavilion, the walls of which are overlaid with porcelain of China, whence it is called the Chinese House. It is said that a person was sent to Khitā,³ for the purpose of bringing it. Within the walls of Samarkand is another ancient building, called the Laklaka (or Echoing) Mosque; because, whenever any person stamps on the ground in the mosque,^a an echo (laklaka) is returned. It is a strange thing, the secret of which is known to nobody.

In the time of Sultan Ahmed Mirza, many of the greater and lesser Begs formed gardens, some large, others smaller Among these, the Chārbāgh¹ of Derwīsh Muhammed Terkhān, in respect of climate, situation, and beauty, is equalled by few. It is situated lower down than the Bāgh-e-meidān, on a small eminence that rises above the valley^a of Kulbeh, and commands a view of the whole vale, which stretches out below. In this Chārbāgh there is a variety of different plots laid out one above another, all on a regular plan, and elms, cypresses, and white poplars are planted in the different compartments. It is a very perfect place. Its chief defect is, that it has no great stream of running water.

Samarkand is a wonderfully elegant city. One of its distinguishing peculiarities^b is, that each trade has its own bazaar; so that different trades are not mixed together in the same place. The established customs and regulations are good. The bakers’ shops are excellent, and the cooks are and manu-
factures. skilful. The best paper in the world comes from Samarkand. The species of paper called juwāz² comes entirely from Kānegil, which is situated on the banks of the Āb-e-siāh (Black Water), called also the Āb-e-rahmet (or Water of Mercy). Another production of Samarkand is kermezi³ (or crimson velvet), which is exported to all quarters.

Around Samarkand are five aulengs (or meadows). One of these is famous, under the name of Kānegil. It lies to the east of Samarkand, but a little inclining to the north. It may be about a shiraa kos off. The Āb-e-rahmet (or Water of Mercy) runs through the midst of it, and has volume enough to drive seven or eight mills. The banks of this stream are full of quagmires. Many allege that the original name of this meadow was Auleng i Kān-e-ābgīr (the Meadow of Quagmires); but in histories it is always denominated Kān-e-gil (the Clay-Pits).^a1 The Sultans of Samarkand were accustomed to guard this vale as a kurūgh, and were in the habit of taking up their residence for two or three weeks annually in this meadow.

Higher up than this meadow, to the south-east, lies another, called the Yuret-Khan (or Khan’s halting-place). It is to the east of Samarkand, about one shiraa kos.² The Āb-e-siāh (Black Water), after passing through it, proceeds on to Kānegil. The river winds round the Yuret-Khan in such a manner as to leave room within for an army to encamp. The roads leading from it are very narrow. Perceiving the excellence of this position, I encamped here for some time during the siege.

Another is the Kurūgh meadow,³ which lies between the Bāgh-e-dilkushā and Samarkand. Another meadow is that of Kūl-e-Maghāk, which lies to the west of Samarkand, but inclining to the north, at the distance of two shiraa kos. This is also a pleasant valley. On one side of it is a large reservoir or piece of water (Kūl), whence it is called the meadow of Kūl-e-Maghāk. During the siege of Samarkand, when I was encamped at Yuret-Khan, Sultan Ali Mirza took up his station on this plain of Kūl-e-Maghāk.

Another is the meadow of Kulbeh, which is but small. On the north it has the village of Kulbeh and the river of Kohik; on the south, the Bāgh-e-meidān and the Chār-bāgh of Dervīsh Muhammed Terkhān; on the east, the hill of Kohik.

Samarkand has many provinces and Tumāns. One of the largest of its provinces, and which comes near to Samarkand, is Bokhāra, lying to the west of Samarkand twenty-five farsangs. Bokhāra is a fine city, and has seven Tumāns or districts, each of them resembling a town. Its fruits are both abundant and of good quality, particularly its melons, which are exquisite; the melons of Bokhāra are not to be equalled in all Māweralnaher, either for quantity or excellence. Though, at Akhsi, in the country of Ferghāna, there is one extremely sweet and delicate species of melon, which they call Mīr Taimūri, yet, in Bokhāra, there is a profusion of melons of every description, and all good of their kind. The pruin or plum of Bokhāra is also celebrated, and nowhere else is that fruit to be found in equal perfection. They peel off the rind of this fruit and dry it, after which it is carried as a most acceptable rarity to other countries. As a laxative, it is a medicine of approved excellence. The household fowl and goose are here of a good breed. In all Māweralnaher there is no wine superior, in spirit and strength, to that of Bokhāra. When I drank wine at Samarkand, in the days when I had my drinking bouts, I used the wine of Bokhāra.

Another province is Kesh, to the south of Samarkand, at the distance of nine farsangs. Between the cities of Kesh and Samarkand lies a hill, called Amak Dābān, from which all the stones brought to the city are quarried. In the spring, the plains, the town of Kesh, the walls and terraces of the houses, are all green and cheerful, whence it is named Shahr-i-sabz (the Green City). As Kesh was the place of Taimūr Beg’s nativity, he made incredible exertion to extend and render it his capital. He built a number of magnificent edifices, and, among others, a lofty tāk, or arched hall, for holding his court. On the right and left of this great tāk, he constructed two smaller tāks (or arched halls), for the convenience of the Begs who attended the court. And, for the benefit of those who came to wait the result of their applications, smaller tāks and saloons were constructed on all sides of the great hall of audience. There is not in the world any tāk or arch that can be compared with the large one, which is said to exceed even the Tāk-e-Kisra.¹ In Kesh there is a college and mausoleum, in which are the tombs of Jehāngīr Mirza and of several of his family. As, however, Kesh was found not to possess the same requisites for becoming a great city as Samarkand, Taimūr Beg at last fixed on Samarkand as his capital.

Another province is Karshi, which they also call Nesef and Nakhsheb. Karshi is a Moghul word, signifying a burial-ground. It probably received this name after the conquest of Chinghiz Khan. It is deficient in water, but is very pleasant in spring. Its apricots^a and melons are excellent. It is situated south of Samarkand, inclining towards the west, at the distance of eighteen farsangs. There is a small bird resembling the bāghri kāra (blackliver¹), which they call kilkūirugh (horse-tails). They are innumerable in the district of Karshi, and, from the quantity of them there found, they get the name of murghak-karshi (the small fowl of Karshi).

Another district is that of Khozār.

Karmīna is another; it lies between Samarkand and Bokhāra.

There is another district named Karakūl (the black lake), which lies lower down the river than any of the rest. It is seven farsangs to the north-west of Bokhāra, and has some very fine Tumāns.^b

Some of the richest Tumāns are those of Soghd, and the Tumāns connected with Soghd, which commence not far from Bokhāra, and proceed without interruption to their termination at Yār-ailāk. There is not one farsang the whole way that does not contain some populous village. It was in allusion to these Tumāns that Taimūr Beg used to boast that he possessed a garden thirty farsangs in length.

Another Tumān is that of Shādwār, which lies close upon the city and suburbs. It is a very fine Tumān. On one side of it is the hill which lies between Samarkand and Shahr-i-sabz; and the greater part of its villages lie scattered on the skirts of that hill. On the other side it has the river Kohik. The temperature of the air is charming; the appearance of the country beautiful, water abundant, and provisions cheap. Those who have travelled in Misr and Shām¹ acknowledge that nothing there is comparable to it. Though there are other Tumāns dependent on Samarkand, yet they are not equal to those which have been mentioned.^a

Taimūr Beg conferred the government of Samarkand on his son Jehāngīr; and after the death of Jehāngīr Mirza, he gave it to that prince’s eldest son, Muhammed Sultan Jehāngīr. Shahrokh Mirza conferred the government of all the provinces of Māweralnaher on his own eldest son, Ulugh Beg Mirza, from whom it was taken by his son, Abdallatīf Mirza; who, for the sake of the enjoyments of this fleeting and transitory world, murdered his own father, an old man so illustrious for his knowledge. The date of the death of Ulugh Beg Mirza is contained in the following memorial verses:²

Ulugh Beg, the ocean of learning and science,
Who was the protector of this lower world,^b Drank from Abbās the honey of martyrdom,
And the date of his death is (Abbās kusht)—Abbās slew him.

Yet his son did not retain the diadem above five or six months; the following verses were applied to him:

Ill does sovereignty befit a parricide:
But should he gain it, let six months be the utmost limit of his reign.

The date of his death is also expressed in memorial verses:

Abdallatīf, who rivalled the pomp of Khosrou and Jemshīd,
Who was attended by crowds of courtiers like Ferīdūn and Zerdusht,
Was slain by Baba Hussain, one Friday night, with an arrow,
And the date of the event is (Bābā Hussain kusht)—Baba Hussain slew him.³

After Abdallatīf Mirza, Abdallah Mirza, the son of Ibrahīm Sultan Mirza, and grandson of Shahrokh Mirza, and the son-in-law of Ulugh Beg Mirza, mounted the throne, and reigned one year and a half, or nearly two years. After [A.D. 1451.] him the government was seized by Sultan Abūsaīd Mirza, who, in his own lifetime, conferred the government on his eldest son Sultan Ahmed Mirza. After the death of Sultan [A.D. 1469.] Abūsaīd Mirza, Sultan Ahmed Mirza continued to exercise the sovereignty. On the death of Sultan Ahmed Mirza, [A.D. 1494.] Sultan Mahmūd Mirza ascended the throne. After Sultan [A.D. 1495.] Mahmūd Mirza, Baiesanghar Mirza was raised to the throne. During the sedition of the Terkhān Begs, Baiesanghar Mirza was seized, and his brother Sultan Ali Mirza placed on the throne for one or two days. Baiesanghar Mirza again recovered it, as has been related. I took it from Baiesanghar Mirza.¹ The events that followed will be mentioned in the course of these Memoirs.

When I mounted the throne of Samarkand, I showed the same favour and grace to the great lords of Samarkand that they had been accustomed to in times past, and I distinguished the Begs who had accompanied me by rewards proportioned to their situation and merits. I bestowed more eminent rewards on Sultan Ahmed Tambol than on any of my other nobles.^a Samarkand had been taken after a severe and fatiguing siege of seven months. On getting possession of it, the soldiers of the army acquired considerable booty. All the rest of the country, Samarkand excepted, had voluntarily joined me or Sultan Ali Mirza, and consequently these districts had not been given up to plunder. From a place which had been entirely ruined and sacked, how was it possible to levy anything by taxation?^b It had all been completely pillaged by the troops.^c Samarkand when taken was in such a distressed state, that it was absolutely necessary to furnish the inhabitants with seed-corn and supplies, to enable them to carry on the cultivation till the harvest. How was it possible to levy anything from a country that was in this exhausted condition? Under these circumstances the soldiers were exposed to considerable distress, and I on my part had nothing to give them. Bābur’s
troops
begin to
desert. They therefore began to think of home, and to desert by ones and twos. The first man who went off was Khan-Kuli Bayān-Kuli.¹ Ibrahīm Begchik was another. All the Moghuls deserted; and finally, Sultan Ahmed Tambol himself went off, and left me.

In order to put a stop to this defection, I sent Khwājeh Kazi to Ūzūn Hassan, who had a great attachment and veneration for the Khwājeh, to prevail upon him to concur in adopting measures to punish some of the fugitives, and send back others to me. But the prime mover of this sedition, and the grand instigator of these desertions and defections was, in reality, the perfidious Ūzūn Hassan himself. After the defection of Sultan Ahmed Tambol, all the fugitives openly and in direct terms professed their hostility.

Though I had never received any kind of assistance or Tambol
asks Ande-
jān and
Akhsi for
Jehāngīr
Mirza. succour from Sultan Mahmūd Khan, during the several years that I had led my army against Samarkand, yet no sooner had I succeeded in conquering that country, than he indicated a desire to occupy Andejān. On the present occasion, when the greater part of my troops, and the whole of the Moghuls, had deserted me and gone to Akhsi and Andejān, Ūzūn Hassan and Tambol expressed a wish that those countries should be placed under Jehāngīr Mirza. It was inexpedient that they should be given up to him, on many accounts. One of these was, that though I never had promised them to the Khan, yet he had demanded them; and if, after such demand, they were bestowed on Jehāngīr Mirza, I must expect to come to an explanation with him. Another reason was, that at this season, when my men had deserted and gone back to their own countries, a request seemed equivalent to a command. Had the request been made before, I might have complied with a good grace; but who could bear a tone of authority? All the Moghuls who had accompanied me, as well as the army of Andejān, and some even of the Begs who were near my person, had gone off to Andejān. Only about a thousand men, including Begs, great and small, remained with me in Samarkand.

When they found that their request was not complied with, they collected all the people who had left me from disappointment, and united them to their party. These deserters, who dreaded the reward of their guilt, stood in such terror of me, that they deemed this revolt an interposition Marches
against
Andejān. of God in their favour. Having marched from Akhsi against Andejān, they openly raised the standard of rebellion and hostility.

One Tūlūn Khwājeh, who was the bravest and most resolute of my skirmishers,^a had been honourably entertained by my father, Omer-Sheikh Mirza, and I myself had continued to show him distinguished marks of my regard, and raised him to the rank of Beg. He was an extremely gallant soldier, an excellent partisan, and every way worthy of the favour shown him. As Tūlūn Khwājeh was the man of all the Moghuls on whom I had conferred the greatest benefits, and in whom I reposed the most perfect trust, when the Ulūs of Moghuls began to retire, I sent him to confer with them, and to remove from their minds any jealousies or distrusts which they might have conceived, that they might not be led to throw away their lives from any false apprehensions of my resentment;^b but the traitors had wrought upon them so effectually, that entreaties and promises and threats were tried in vain. The march of Tūlūn Khwājeh was by Miān-Doāb,¹ which is also called Rabātiki-Urchīni.² Ūzūn Hassan and Sultan Ahmed Tambol dispatched a body of light troops, who fell by surprise on Tūlūn Khwājeh, took him prisoner, carried him off and put him to death.

Ūzūn Hassan and Tambol now carried Jehāngīr Mirza along with them, and laid siege to Andejān. When I set out with the army, I had left Ali Dost Taghāi in command of Andejān, and Ūzūn Hassan in charge of Akhsi. Khwājeh Kazi had also returned back^a to Andejān. Among those who had deserted from Samarkand were a number of good soldiers. Khwājeh Kazi, immediately on his arrival, with a view of preserving the fort, and induced by his affection and attachment to me, divided eighteen thousand of his own sheep among the troops who were in the town, and among the wives and families of such as were with me. During the siege I received letters from my mothers,¹ as well as from Khwājeh Kazi, mentioning that they were besieged, and so hotly pressed, that if I did not hasten to their relief, things would come to a very bad termination: that I had taken Samarkand with the forces of Andejān, and if I still continued master of Andejān, might once more (should God prosper me) regain possession of Samarkand. Bābur dan-
gerously ill. Letters of this import followed fast upon each other. At this time I had just somewhat recovered from a severe illness. My circumstances, however, prevented me from nursing myself during my amendment; and my anxiety and exertions brought on such a severe relapse, that for four days I was speechless, and the only nourishment I received was from having my tongue occasionally moistened with cotton. Those who were with me, high and low, Begs, cavaliers, and soldiers, despairing of my life, began each to shift for himself.

At this very crisis a servant of Ūzūn Hassan’s came on an embassy with some seditious propositions. The Begs, very mistakenly, brought him where I was,^b and then gave him leave to depart. In four or five days I got somewhat better, but still had a little difficulty of speech.^c A few days afterwards I received letters from my mother, my mother’s mother Isān Daulat Begum, and from my teacher and spiritual guide Khwājeh Moulāna Kazi, inviting me with so much solicitude to come to their assistance, that I had not March
1498. the heart to delay. In the month of Rajeb, on a Saturday, I marched out of Samarkand for Andejān. At this time Marches to
the relief of
Andejān. I had reigned just one hundred days in Samarkand. Next Saturday I reached Khojend, and that same day intelligence Hears of its
surrender. arrived that, seven days before, on the very Saturday on which I had left Samarkand, Ali Dost Taghāi had surrendered the fortress of Andejān to the enemy.

The truth was, that the servant of Ūzūn Hassan, who had been suffered to depart during my illness, arriving while the enemy were busy with the siege, and relating what he had witnessed, that the king had lost his speech, and received no nourishment except from having his tongue moistened with cotton steeped in a liquid, was made to confirm these circumstances on oath in the presence of Ali Dost Taghāi, who stood at the Khākān Gate. Completely confounded at the news, he commenced a negotiation with the enemy, and having entered into terms of capitulation, surrendered the fort. There was no want of provisions, nor of fighting men in the place. This wretched fellow’s conduct, therefore, was the extreme of treachery and cowardice.^a He merely employed the circumstances that have been mentioned as a cover to his baseness.

After the surrender of Andejān, the enemy having received information of my arrival at Khojend, seized Khwājeh Moulāna Kazi and martyred him, by hanging him in a shameful manner over the gate of the citadel. Khwājeh Moulāna Kazi’s real name was Abdallah, but he was better known by the other appellation. By the father’s side he was descended of Sheikh Būrhān-ed-dīn Kilij, and by the mother’s side from Sultan Ilik Māzi; and his family had for a long time maintained the situation of Muktida (prime religious guide), and of Sheikh-ul-Islām (or chief judge in ecclesiastical law), in the country of Ferghāna. Khwājeh Kazi was the disciple of Khwājeh Obeidullah, by whom he was educated. I have no doubt that Khwājeh Kazi was a Wali (or saint). What better proof of it could be required than the single fact that, in a short time, no trace or memorial remained of any one of all those who were concerned in his murder? They were all completely extirpated. Khwājeh Kazi was a wonderfully bold man, which is also no mean proof of sanctity. All mankind, however brave they be, have some little anxiety or trepidation about them. The Khwājeh had not a particle of either.

After the Khwājeh’s death they seized and plundered all those who were connected with him as his servants and domestics, his tribe and followers. They sent to me, to Khojend, my grandmother, my mother, and the families of several persons who were with me.^a For the sake of Andejān, I had lost Samarkand, and found that I had lost the one without preserving the other.^b

I now became a prey to melancholy and vexation; for since I had been a sovereign prince, I never before had been separated in this manner from my country and followers; and since the day that I had known myself, I had never experienced such grief and suffering. While I was at Khojend, some who envied Khalīfeh could not endure to Is obliged
to dismiss
Khalīfeh. see his influence in my court; and Muhammed Hussain Mirza and some others exerted themselves with such effect,^c that I was obliged to allow him to retire to Tāshkend.

I had sent Kāsim Beg to Tāshkend to the Khan, to request him to march against Andejān. The Khan, who was my maternal uncle, accordingly, having collected an army, advanced by the Dale of Ahengerān,¹ and I having set out from Khojend, met him by the time he had encamped below Kundezlik and Amāni.^d Having reduced Kundezlik and Amāni, he advanced towards Akhsi and encamped. The enemy too, on their part, having brought together what army they had, came to Akhsi. At this time the fortress of Pāp¹ was held by some of my partisans in hopes of my arrival; but the enemy, gaining courage from a belief of the Khan’s retreat,^a carried it by storm.

Though the Khan had many valuable qualities and talents, yet he had no talents as a soldier or general. At the very moment when matters were brought to such a pass, that, if we had advanced a single march, the country might have been gained without fighting a battle, he listened to the artful proposals of the enemy, and dispatched Khwājeh Abul Makāram with Tambol’s elder brother, Beg Tīlbeh, who at that time was the Khan’s chamberlain, on an embassy, with proposals for an accommodation. The cabal, in order to extricate themselves, presented such a mixture of truth and falsehood in their representations, and seasoned their eloquence so well with gratifications and bribes to those who acted as negotiators,^b that the Khan was prevailed upon to break up and retreat the way he came. As the Begs, captains, and warriors, who were with me, had many of them their wives and families in Andejān; and as they Bābur
abandoned
by his
army. now saw no hope of our regaining it, great and small, Beg and common man, to the number of seven or eight hundred men, separated from me entirely. Among the nobles who left me, were Ali Derwīsh Beg, Ali Mazīd Kuchīn, Muhammed Bākir Beg, Sheikh Abdallah the chamberlain, and Mīram Lāghari. There adhered to me, choosing voluntarily a life of exile and difficulty, of all ranks, good and bad, somewhat more than two hundred, and less than three hundred men. Of the Begs were Kāsim Beg Kuchīn, Weis Lāghari, Ibrahīm Sāru Minkaligh, Shīrīm Taghāi, and Seyad Kārabeg. Of my other officers and courtiers there were Mīr Shah Kuchīn, Syed Kāsim, the Chamberlain, a Jelāir, Kāsim Ajab, Muhammed Dost, Ali Dost Taghāi, Muhammed Ali Mubashar, Khuda-berdi Tughchi (the Standard-bearer), a Moghul, Yārek Taghāi, Sultan Kuli, Pīr Weis, Sheikh Weis, Yār Ali Belāl, Kāsim, Master of the Horse, Hyder Rikābdār (the Equerry).

I was now reduced to a very distressed condition, and wept a great deal. I returned to Khojend, whither they sent me my mother and my grandmother, with the wives and families of several of those who had continued with me. May 1498. I spent that Ramzān in Khojend, and afterwards, having sent a person to Sultan Mahmūd Khan to solicit assistance, proceeded against Samarkand. He dispatched his son, Sultan Muhammed Khanekeh, and Ahmed Beg, with four or five thousand men, against Samarkand; and came himself to Uratippa, where I had an interview with him, and then advanced towards Samarkand by way of Yār-ailāk. Sultan Muhammed and Ahmed Beg had reached Yār-ailāk before me by another road. I came by way of Burkeh-ailāk to Sengraz, which is the chief township and seat of the Dārogha¹ of Yār-ailāk; but before my arrival, Sultan Muhammed and Ahmed Beg, having been informed of the But is
forced to
return to
Khojend. approach of Sheibāni Khan, and of his ravaging Shirāz and that vicinity, had retreated back in haste. I too was consequently compelled to retreat, and returned to Khojend.

Inspired as I was with an ambition for conquest and for extensive dominion, I would not, on account of one or two defeats, sit down and look idly around me. I now repaired to Tāshkend to the Khan, in order to gain some assistance in my views on Andejān. This journey also furnished me with a pretext for seeing Shah Begum² and my other relations, whom I had not seen for seven or eight years. Gets a rein-
forcement
of Moghuls. A few days after my arrival, Syed Muhammed Mirza Dughlet, Ayūb Begchik, and Jān Hassan were appointed to accompany me, with a reinforcement of seven or eight Takes
Nasūkh. hundred men. With this auxiliary force I set out, and without tarrying in Khojend advanced without loss of time, and leaving Kandbādām on the left, in the course of the night, reached and applied scaling-ladders to the fortress of Nasūkh, which is ten farsangs from Khojend and three¹ from Kandbādām, and carried the place by surprise. It was the season when the melons were ripe, and at Nasūkh there is a sort of melon termed Ismāīl sheikhi, the skin of which is yellow and puckered like shagreen leather; they are in great abundance. The seeds are about the size of those of an apple, and the pulp four fingers thick. It is a remarkably delicate and agreeable melon, and there is none equal to it in that quarter. Next morning the Moghul Begs represented to me that we had only a handful of men, and that no possible benefit could result from keeping possession of a single insulated castle. Indeed there was truth in what But aban-
dons it. they said; so that, not finding it expedient to remain there and garrison the fort, I retired and went back to Khojend.

This same year Khosrou Shah, accompanied by Baiesanghar Mirza, marched with an army to Cheghāniān, and, with the most deceitful and treacherous intentions, sent an embassy to Sultan Masaūd Mirza, inviting him to join them in their enterprise against Samarkand; proposing that, if they conquered it, the one Mirza should fix the seat of his government in Samarkand, and the other in Hissār. At this time very general discontents prevailed among the Begs, courtiers, cavaliers, and soldiers of Sultan Masaūd. The reason of their dissatisfaction was, that Sheikh Abdallah Birlās, who had left Sultan Baiesanghar Mirza to join Sultan Masaūd Mirza, and who was the Mirza’s father-in-law, had obtained great rank and confidence; and, though Hissār is but a narrow and confined country, Sultan Masaūd Mirza had given him an allowance of a thousand tumāns² in money, besides the whole country of Khutlān. Khutlān was the jagīr¹ of the Begs and officers about Sultan Masaūd Mirza’s person. Sheikh Abdallah Birlās, however, got possession of the whole, and he and his sons gained a complete ascendancy and unlimited direction of affairs at the court. Such as were dissatisfied fled and joined Baiesanghar Mirza. Khosrou Shah and Baiesanghar Mirza having lulled Sultan Masaūd Mirza into a careless security by their deceitful professions, after a sudden march from Cheghāniān, appeared before Hissār about the beat of the morning drum, invested and took it.

At this time Sultan Masaūd Mirza was not within the fortress, but at a palace in the vicinity,^a which had been built by his father, called the Doulet Serāi. Finding it impossible to throw himself into the fort, he fled towards Khutlān, accompanied by Sheikh Abdallah Birlās; but having separated from him on the road, he proceeded by the Pass of Ubāj² and took refuge with Sultan Hussain Mirza.

As soon as Khosrou Shah had taken Hissār, he placed Baiesanghar Mirza in it, and gave Khutlān to his younger brother Wali. A few days after he set out against Balkh. Having dispatched before him one of his principal retainers, named Nazar Bahāder, with four thousand men, to occupy the environs of that place, he himself followed soon afterwards, accompanied by Baiesanghar Mirza, and commenced the siege. Ibrahīm Hussain Mirza commanded in Balkh, and had with him a considerable number of Sultan Hussain Mirza’s Begs.

Khosrou Shah at the same time sent his younger brother Wali with a large detachment to lay siege to Shaberghān,¹ and to ravage and destroy the country around. Wali was not able to approach Shaberghān, but sent out his troops to plunder the Īls and Ulūs (the wandering tribes and hordes) that occupied the desert of Zardek, which they accordingly did, carrying off above one hundred thousand sheep, and nearly three thousand camels. Proceeding thence, he pillaged the district of Sancherik,^a and having taken prisoners and carried off a number of the inhabitants who had fled for refuge to the hills and there fortified themselves, he returned to Balkh and rejoined his elder brother.

While Khosrou Shah lay before Balkh, he one day sent Nazar Bahāder, who has been mentioned, to destroy the water-courses and spoil the waters in the environs of Balkh. Tengri Berdi Samānchi, an officer who had been brought forward by^b Sultan Hussain Mirza, issued from the fort with seventy or eighty men, and having fallen in with Nazar Bahāder’s party, met him face to face, beat him down from Nazar Ba-
hāder slain. his horse, cut off his head, and returned back with it to the fort, having displayed singular bravery in the whole course of the affair.

This same year Sultan Hussain Mirza levied an army and advanced to the fort of Bost² for the purpose of reducing to order Zulnūn Arghūn and Shah Shujaa his son; who, having joined Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, and given him a daughter of Zulnūn’s in marriage, were now in a state of rebellion and revolt. On that occasion, when the Sultan could not procure supplies of grain for the army from any quarter, and was on the point of being compelled to raise the siege, and of being reduced to the last extremity from Takes
Bost. famine, the governor surrendered the fort, and the stores found in the granaries enabled the army to return to Khorasān.

When a king like Sultan Hussain Mirza, who was attended with such royal equipage, and displayed so much pomp and state, had led his army on several different occasions against Kunduz, Hissār, and Kandahār, and had in every instance returned unsuccessful, his sons and Begs were spirited up to venture on seditions and rebellion. Sultan Hussain Mirza had dispatched Muhammed Wali Beg, with a number of Begs and the bulk of his army,^a for the purpose of chastising his son Muhammed Hussain Mirza, who was in revolt, and gaining ground at Asterābād,^b with instructions to advance upon him by rapid marches. He himself, meanwhile, remained encamped in the auleng (or meadow) of Nīshīn;¹ when Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza, and Shah Beg the son of Zulnūn, having collected a body of troops, came on him by surprise. By a most fortunate accident, Sultan Masaūd Mirza, who had just lost Hissār, came that very day to join Sultan Hussain Mirza; and, in the course of the same day, the army that had been detached against Asterābād, having returned back, also joined him. When the two armies therefore came to face each other, the enemy found themselves too weak to venture on a battle, and Badīa-ez-zemān Mirza and Shah Beg took to flight. Sultan Hussain Mirza received Sultan Masaūd Mirza in the most gracious manner, gave him one of his daughters in marriage, and distinguished him by every mark of attention and kindness. Seduced, however, by the instigations of Bāki Cheghāniāni, the younger brother of Khosrou Shah, who some time before had entered into the service of Sultan Sultan Ma-
saūd Mirza
leaves his
court. Hussain Mirza, he did not continue in Khorasān, but went off, under some false pretext, without even taking leave of Sultan Hussain Mirza, and joined Khosrou Shah.

Khosrou Shah now sent for Baiesanghar Mirza from Hissār. At this time Mirān Shah Mirza, the son of Ulugh Beg Mirza,¹ who had rebelled against his father and taken shelter among the Hazāras, having done something which gave them offence, was obliged to leave them also, and now came to Khosrou Shah. Some evil-minded counsellors advised Khosrou Shah to put all the three princes to death, and to cause the khutbeh² to be read in his own name. He did not fall into this plan, but yet, for the sake of this fleeting and faithless world, which never was, and never will be, true to any one, this thankless and ungrateful man seized Sultan Masaūd Mirza, a prince whom he himself had reared from infancy to manhood, and whose governor he had been, His eyes
put out by
Khosrou
Shah. and blinded him by lancing his eyes. Some of the foster-brothers, clansmen, and playmates^a of Masaūd Mirza carried him off, with the intention of conducting him to Sultan Ali Mirza in Samarkand, and brought him to Kesh.³ Here, discovering a plan that had been formed for attacking them, they fled, crossed the river Amu by the passage of Chār-jūi, and took refuge with Sultan Hussain Mirza. Every day until the day of judgement, may a hundred thousand curses light on the head of that man who is guilty of such black treachery, and on his who plans it: let every man who hears of this action of Khosrou Shah, pour out imprecations on him; for he who hears of such a deed and does not curse him, is himself worthy to be accursed.

After this abominable transaction, having declared Baiesanghar Mirza King, he sent him off to Hissār; and, at the same time, sent Mirān Shah Mirza towards Bāmiān, accompanied by Syed Kāmil, who was to lend him his assistance.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE YEAR 904¹

HAVING failed in repeated^a expeditions against Samarkand and Andejān, I once more returned to Khojend. Khojend is but a small place; and it is difficult for one to support two hundred retainers in it. How, then, could a man, ambitious of empire, set himself down contentedly in so insignificant a place?

In order to forward my views against Samarkand, I now sent some persons to Muhammed Hussain Korkān Dughlet, who held Uratippa, to confer with him, and induce him to lend me for one winter Peshāgher, which is one of the villages of Yār-ailāk. It had formerly belonged to the reverend Khwājeh, but, during the confusions, had become dependent on him; and my plan now was, to take up my residence there, and attempt whatever circumstances might suggest against Samarkand. Muhammed Hussain Dughlet gave his consent, and I left Khojend, on my way to Peshāgher.

When I reached Zamīn, I was seized with a fever; notwithstanding which, I mounted, and, having left that place, proceeded with great speed, by the mountain-route against Rabāt-e-Khwājeh,² which is the seat of the Dārōgha, or governor of the Tumān of Shādwār, in the hope that we might have been able to come upon it and apply our scaling-ladders unobserved, and so carry the place by surprise. I reached it at daybreak; but, finding the garrison on the alert, retreated, and reached Peshāgher, without halting anywhere. In spite of my fever, I had ridden fourteen farsangs, though with great difficulty, and I suffered much from the exertion.

In a few days, I dispatched Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, and Shīrīm Taghāi, with some Begs of my party, and a body of my partisans and adherents, to proceed without loss of time, and reduce, either by negotiation or by force, all the fortresses of Yār-ailāk. At this time, Syed Yūsef Beg was in command of the district of Yār-ailāk. He had remained behind in Samarkand when I abandoned it, and had been well treated by Sultan Ali Mirza.¹ Syed Yūsef Beg had sent his brother and younger son^a for the purpose of occupying and managing Yār-ailāk. Ahmed Yūsef, who at present has the government of Siālkot,² was in charge of the fortresses. My Begs and soldiers set out accordingly; and exerting themselves with uncommon activity during the whole winter, gained possession of the strong places, some by negotiation, some by storm, and others by artifice and stratagem. In consequence of the incursions of the Moghuls and Usbeks, there is not a village in the whole district of Yār-ailāk which is not converted into a fortress. On the occasion in question, suspicions being entertained of Syed Yūsef Beg, his younger brother, and son, on account of their known attachment to me, they were all sent away to Khorasān.

The winter passed in such efforts and attempts as these. In the spring, Sultan Ali Mirza sent Khwājeh Yahya to treat with me, while he himself marched with his army^b into the neighbourhood of Shirāz and Kābad. My soldiers, though above two hundred in number, did not amount to three hundred; and the enemy was in great force. I had hovered for a while about Andejān, but my star had not prospered. butis forced
to abandon
them. Samarkand, too, had slipped out of my hands.^c I was now compelled by necessity to make some sort of peace, and returned back from Peshāgher.

Khojend is an inconsiderable place, from which a single Beg would have found it difficult to have supported himself. There, however, I had remained with my whole family, for a year and a half, or nearly two years. The Musulmans of the place, during all that time, had strained themselves to the utmost extent of their abilities to serve me.^a With what face, therefore, could I return to Khojend, and, indeed, what benefit could result from it?

In this state of irresolution and uncertainty, I went to the Ailāks,¹ to the south of Uratippa, and spent some time in that quarter, perplexed and distracted with the hopeless state of my affairs.^b

One day, while I remained there, Khwājeh Abul Makāram, who, like myself, was an exile and a wanderer, came to visit me. I took the opportunity of consulting him with respect to my situation and concerns—whether it was advisable for me to remain where I was, or to go elsewhere—what I should attempt, and what I should leave untried. He was so much affected with the state in which he found me, that he shed tears, and, after praying over me,² took his departure. I myself was also extremely affected.

That very day, about afternoon prayers, a horseman was descried at the bottom of the valley. He proved to be a servant of Ali Dost Taghāi, named Yūljūk. He came with a message from his master, to inform me that he had undoubtedly offended deeply, but that he trusted to my clemency for forgiving his past offences; and that, if I would march to join him, he would deliver up Marghinān to me, and would do me such service and duty as would wipe away his past errors, and free him from his disgrace.

Instantly on hearing this news,^c without delay, I that very moment (it was then about sunset) set out post for Marghinān. From the place where I then was to Marghinān may be a distance of twenty-four or twenty-five farsangs. That night till morning, and the next day till the time of noon-day prayers, I halted in no place whatsoever. About noon-day prayers, I halted at a village of Khojend, named Tunek-āb;¹ and, after having refreshed our horses, and fed and watered them, we again mounted at midnight, left Tunek-āb, rode all that night till morning, and all next day till sunset, and, just before sunrise the following morning, we came within one farsang of Marghinān. Weis Beg and some others, after considering matters, now represented to me, that Ali Dost Taghāi was one who had stickled at no crimes; that there had been no repeated interchange of messengers between us—no terms or conditions agreed upon; with what confidence, therefore, could we put ourselves in his power^a? In truth, these reflections had reason on their side. I therefore halted a little, and held a consultation, when it was finally agreed, that, though our reflections were not without foundation, we had been too late of making them. We had now passed three days and three nights without rest; and we had come a distance of twenty-five farsangs without stopping; that neither man nor horse had any strength left; that there was no possibility of retreating, and, even if we could retreat, no place of safety to retire to; that, since we had come so far, we must proceed. Nothing happens but by the will of God. Reposing ourselves on His protection, we went forward.

About the time of the sunnet² (or morning prayer), we reached the gate of the castle of Marghinān. Ali Dost Taghāi stood over^b the gateway, without throwing the gate open, and desired conditions. After I had assented to terms, and given him my promise, he caused the gates to be opened, and paid his respects to me, conducting me to a suitable house within the fort. The men who had accompanied me amounted, great and small, to two hundred and forty.

Ūzūn Hassan and Sultan Ahmed Tambol had, I found, conducted themselves very ill, and behaved with great tyranny to the people of the country. The whole inhabitants now anxiously wished for my restoration. Two or three days after my arrival in Marghinān, therefore, I dispatched Kāsim Beg, with a party of my Peshāgher men, a few others who had recently entered my service, and some of Ali Dost Beg’s people, in all rather above a hundred men, with instructions to proceed to the south of Andejān, to the people of the hill country, such as the Ashparis, the Tūrūkshārs, the Jagrags, and others in that quarter, and to attempt to prevail upon them, either by negotiation or force, to make their submission. I also sent Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, and Sayyidī Kāra, with about a hundred men, towards Akhsi, with instructions to pass the river of Khojend, to use all means to gain possession of the forts,^a and to conciliate and win over the people of the hills.

A few days after, Ūzūn Hassan and Sultan Ahmed Tambol, having taken Jehāngīr Mirza along with them, and collected all the soldiers and Moghuls that they had, and taken from Andejān and Akhsi every man able to bear arms, advanced with the intention of laying siege to Marghinān, and halted at a village named Sapān, which lies about a kos to the eastward of that town. After two or three days, having arrayed and accoutred their host, they came up to the suburbs of Marghinān. Although I had detached Kāsim Beg, Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, and other officers, on service to two different quarters, and only a very few troops remained with me, yet having armed and put in array such as I had, we marched out, and would not permit them to advance beyond the skirts of the suburbs. This day, Khalīl Chihreh Dastār-pech¹ distinguished himself greatly, and fought with singular valour. The enemy could effect nothing. Two succeeding attempts were equally frustrated, and they were unable to reach the fortress.

Kāsim Beg, who had proceeded to the hill country to the south of Andejān, completely brought over the Ashparis, the Tūrūkshārs, the Jagrags, and all the people of that country, both the peasants settled in the hills and plains, and the Aimāks.¹ The enemy’s soldiers, too, began to desert by ones and twos, and came and joined me.

Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, and the other chiefs who had passed the river towards Akhsi, possessed themselves of the fort of Pāp, and of one or two other forts. Ūzūn Hassan and Tambol were tyrannical and debauched, and the peasants and men of the country were disgusted with their proceedings. Hassan Degchi, one of the chief men of Akhsi, with his own followers and a body of the mob and rabble of the place, having armed themselves with sticks and clubs, attacked and drove the garrison of Akhsi out of the place^a and forced them to take refuge in the citadel. They then invited Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, Sayyidī Kāra, and the chiefs who were along with them,^b and gave them admittance into the fortified town of Akhsi.

Sultan Mahmūd Khan had dispatched to my assistance Bandeh Ali, Haider, his own foster-brother,^c with Hāji Ghāzi Monghit,² who had fled about this time from Sheibāni Khan, and come over to the Khan, together with the Begs of the Tumān of Bārīn. They arrived at this very crisis, and joined the detachment.

Ūzūn Hassan was alarmed on receiving this intelligence. Ūzūn Has-
san sends a
detachment
to the relief
of the cita-
del of
Akhsi; He dispatched a party of his most trusty adherents, and of his bravest partisans, to the relief of the citadel of Akhsi. They reached the bank of the river about morning twilight. When notice of this was communicated to my army and to that of the Moghuls, a party was directed to strip their horses of all their furniture, and to be ready to enter the river. The party which was going to relieve the citadel, having, in their confusion and alarm, neglected to pull the boat sufficiently up the stream, dropped down below the place from which they had embarked, and were unable to make the fort, so that the vessel was carried lower down. My troops and the Moghuls, who had stripped their horses, plunged on all sides into the river. The men in the boat, being panic-struck, were unable to defend themselves. which is cut
to pieces. Karlughāch Bakhshi¹ having invited one of the sons of Moghul Beg to come to him, laid hold of his hand, and slew him with his sword. What purpose did such an act of treachery serve? Things were now all over; and this cruel deed was the occasion of the death of the greater part of those who were in the boat; for our people, who had rode into the water, dragged them on shore, and put them almost all to death. Of the confidential servants of Ūzūn Hassan, Karlughāch Bakhshi, Khalīl Dīwāneh, and Kazi Gholām were on board. Of these, Kazi Gholām escaped, by pretending to be a slave. Another man of note who escaped was Syed Ali, who is now with me, and high in office. Another was Haider Kuli Kilkeh Kāshghari.^a Of seventy or eighty experienced and chosen warriors, not more than five or six escaped.

On receiving information of these occurrences, the enemy, being unable to maintain themselves in the vicinity of Marghinān, moved off in great disorder towards Andejān. They had left in Andejān Nāsir Beg, who had married Ūzūn Hassan’s sister, and who, if not next to Ūzūn Hassan in consequence, was, beyond contradiction, in possession of the third place. He was a man of sense and experience, and possessed of courage. Having learned the recent occurrences, and knowing on what an unstable basis the cabal rested, he brought over the garrison of Andejān to my Andejān
declares for
Bābur. interest,^b and sent a person to invite me to the city. When the cabal reached Andejān, and found that it had declared for me, and was held on my account, being unable to agree among themselves, and in the greatest confusion, Ūzūn Hassan retired towards the citadel of Akhsi to his family; Sultan Ahmed Tambol drew off to Ush to his own government, while Jehāngīr Mirza was seized by a party of his adherents and followers, who carried him off from Ūzūn Hassan and fled with him to Tambol. They overtook Tambol before he had reached Ush, and accompanied him in his retreat.

As soon as I received advice that the garrison of Andejān had declared for me, I made no delay, but setting out at sunrise from Marghinān, reached Andejān when the day was Who again
enters his
capital. on the decline. I saw and conversed with Nāsir Beg and his sons, Dost Beg and Mīram Beg, treated them with every mark of kindness, and gave them reason to expect everything from my favour. And thus, by the grace of the Most June 1499. High, in the month of Zilkaadeh, and year nine hundred and four, I recovered my paternal kingdom, of which I had been deprived nearly two years.

Sultan Ahmed Tambol, who had proceeded towards Ush, accompanied by Jehāngīr Mirza, no sooner arrived there, than the rabble and common people, arming themselves with sticks and clubs, made a furious attack upon him, drove them fairly out of the town, and sent persons to give Retires to
Uzkend. me notice that they held the place on my account. Jehāngīr Mirza and Tambol, with a few partisans who still adhered to them, retired in great dismay to Uzkend.

Ūzūn Hassan, on seeing himself shut out of Andejān, retreated to Akhsi, and information reached me that he had entered the citadel. As he was the very head and ringleader of the rebellion, without staying more than four or five days in Andejān, I marched against Akhsi. No sooner had I arrived there, than, as he had nothing else left for it, he but surren-
ders to
Bābur, offered to capitulate, asked quarter, and surrendered the fort. After a few days’ stay at Akhsi, which I employed in putting the affairs and government of that city and of Kāsān^a into a proper state of order and arrangement, I dismissed the Moghul Begs who had come to my assistance on this enterprise, and returned to Andejān, carrying with me Ūzūn Hassan, his family and dependants. Kāsim Ajab, who was of the inferior class of Begs,^a being raised to a higher rank, was left in the temporary charge of Akhsi.

As I had agreed that Ūzūn Hassan should suffer no injury either in life or property, I allowed him to depart by way¹ of Karatigīn on his road to Hissār. He proceeded towards Hissār with a small retinue, while all the rest of his followers separated from him and remained behind. These were the very men who, during the late disturbances, had pillaged and plundered my adherents and Khwājeh Kazi’s men. Several of my Begs united in their representations, telling me,^b ‘This is the very band which has been the cause of all these confusions, and the origin of all the devastations that have afflicted us; these are the men who His
adherents
plundered. have plundered so many of the faithful and true believers who adhered to us. What fidelity have they shown to their own chiefs that they should now be faithful to us? What harm would there be if they were seized, or an order given for plundering them? Especially as they are riding our own horses, wearing our garments, and killing and eating our own sheep before our eyes. What patience can possibly endure all this? If from compassion you do not plunder them, or give orders for a general pillage, at least let us, who have adhered to you in all your dangers and difficulties, be permitted to resume whatever part of our property we find in the possession of these men. If they get off on these terms, they ought to be very thankful.’ In fine, I agreed to the plan, and an order was issued that such as had accompanied me in my campaigns, might resume possession of whatever part of their property they recognized. Although the order seemed reasonable and just in itself, yet it had been issued with too much precipitation; and, when there was a rival like Jehāngīr Mirza at my elbow, it was a senseless thing to exasperate so many men who had arms in their hands. In war and in affairs of state, though there are many things that appear just and reasonable at first sight, yet no matter ought to be finally fixed without being well weighed, and considered in a hundred different lights. From my issuing this single order without sufficient foresight, what commotions and mutinies arose! This inconsiderate order of mine was in reality the ultimate cause of my being a second time expelled from Andejān.

The Moghuls being filled with alarm, mutinied and marched away from Rabātiki-Urchīnī, which they also call Miān-Doāb, towards Uzkend, and sent a person to Tambol to offer him their services. There were with my mother one thousand five hundred or nearly two thousand Moghuls, and about the same number may have come from Hissār along with Hamzeh Sultan, Mahdi Sultan, and Muhammed Dughlet. The horde of Moghuls have uniformly been the authors of every kind of mischief and devastation; down to the present time they have five times rebelled against me. Nor have they mutinied only against me, which might have proceeded from some incompatibility of temper, but they are perpetually guilty of the same offence against their own Khans.

The news of this defection was brought me by Sultan Kuli Chanāk, whose father, Khuda-berdi Bughāk, I had greatly distinguished among the Moghuls. His father had died some time before, and he himself now served along with them. He did me good service by separating himself from his own clan and kin, and bringing me this information; but though, on this occasion, he was useful to me, he was, finally, as will be mentioned, guilty of such villainy as would have wiped away a hundred services like that in question;¹ and the main cause of his future villainy was also his being a Moghul.

As soon as I received this information, I assembled the Begs and held a consultation. They were of opinion that it was a trifling occurrence, and that there was no necessity for the King himself to take the field; that Kāsim Beg, with a few of the Begs and a detachment of the army, might proceed on the service. This was accordingly resolved on. They imagined that it was an easy matter, but were woefully mistaken. That same day Kāsim Beg marched out with his Begs and army, but before they had come to their ground, and while still on their march, Tambol himself arrived and joined the Moghuls. Early next morning, the moment they¹ had passed the river Ailamish at the ford of Yasi-kijet,² the two armies met face to face and had a desperate action; Kāsim Beg himself meeting Sultan Muhammed Arghūn, struck him two or three blows one after another with his sword, but did not slay him. Several of my cavaliers made very gallant charges, but they were finally defeated. Kāsim Beg, Ali Dost Taghāi, Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, and Sayyidī Kāra, with three or four others of my Begs and officers, escaped. Most of the other Begs and officers fell into the hands of the enemy. Among these were Ali Derwīsh Beg, Mīram Lāghari, Tūkah Beg, Taghāi Beg, Muhammed Dost, Ali Dost, Mīr Shah Kuchīn, and Mīram Dīwān. In this battle two cavaliers had a gallant combat. On my side was Samad, one of Ibrahīm Sāru’s younger brothers, and on the other side was Shah-sawār, one of the Moghuls of Hissār. They met hand to hand, and Shah-sawār urged his blow with such force, that he drove his sabre right through Samad’s helmet, and fixed it pretty deep in his skull. In spite of this wound, Samad returned the blow with such fury, that his sword shore clean off a piece of Shah-sawār’s skull as big as the palm of the hand. As Shah-sawār had no helmet on, the wound in his head was properly bound up and he recovered; but there being nobody to attend to Samad’s wound, he died of it in three or four days.

This defeat came most unseasonably, just at the moment when I had escaped from a scene of petty warfare and disasters, and had again recovered my country. Kamber Ali Moghul, who was one of my great stays, had returned to his own government immediately after I had taken Andejān, and was not at hand. Tambol, following up his success, brought Jehāngīr along with him, and, accompanied by all his forces, advanced within a farsang of Andejān to a plain in face of the rising ground of Aīsh, Tambol ad-
vances to
Andejān, where he encamped.^a He once or twice put his army in order of battle, and advanced from Chihil-dukhterān¹ to the skirts of Aīsh. My troops, too, moved out and formed on the outside of the suburbs and garden grounds. His advance was checked, and he retreated from the skirts of the hill to another position. It was during this same advance towards the city that he put to death Mīram Lāghari and Tūkah, two of the Begs who had fallen into his hands. After lying but is
obliged to
retire. nearly a month before the city, and effecting nothing, he returned towards Ush. I had given Ush to Ibrahīm Sāru, whose men were in the place. They held it on my account.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE YEAR 905²

I NOW dispatched commissaries and officers to collect the whole force of my territories, horse and foot, with all possible speed; and, by means of special messengers, I summoned Kamber Ali, and such of the troops as had gone to their own homes, to return without loss of time. I also dispatched commissaries and officers to procure tūras,³ scaling-ladders, shovels, axes, and all kinds of necessaries and stores for the use of the army. I appointed a place where the men, both horse and foot, who came from the different districts to the army, were to assemble.^b My servants and soldiers, who had gone off in different directions, on business or service, were recalled; and, putting Aug. 25,
1499. my confidence in God, on the 18th of Muharrem, I marched out and encamped at the Chār-bāgh of Hāfiz Beg. After halting a day or two at the Chār-bāgh in order to get ready such of the arms and stores as had remained incomplete, I marched towards Ush to meet the enemy, having my army divided into right and left wings, centre and advance, with cavalry and infantry all drawn out in regular array.

When we arrived near Ush, I was informed that the army, finding that they could not maintain themselves in Ush, had retired towards Rabāt-e-Sarhang Urchīni, which lies north of that city. That evening I halted at Lātkend, and, the next morning, as I was passing Ush, learned that the Tambol
attempts to
surprise
Andejān. enemy had directed their march on Andejān. We on our part approached Uzkend, and detached forward plundering parties to ravage the country and suburbs. The enemy, arriving at Andejān during the night, instantly entered the ditch; but while they were planting their scaling-ladders against the ramparts, were discovered by the people within, so that the enterprise failed and they were compelled to retreat. My plundering parties advanced and committed devastations in the suburbs of Uzkend, but came back without acquiring any considerable booty.

In one of the forts of Ush, named Mādu, which is distinguished for its superior strength, Tambol had left his younger brother Khalīl with a garrison of two hundred, or two hundred and fifty men. Against this fortress I now marched, and attacked it with great vigour.^a The castle of Mādu is excessively strong. On the north side, where there is a river, it is very steep and precipitous. If an arrow be discharged from the river, it may perhaps reach the castle wall. Its supply of water is from a conduit on this side. From the bottom of the castle a sort of covered way, having ramparts on each side, reaches down to the river. All round the hillock there is a moat. As the river is near at hand, they had brought from its bed stones about the size of those used for battering cannon, and carried them up into the fort. Such a number of huge stones¹ as were launched from the fort of Mādu, in all the storms that I have witnessed, I never saw thrown from any other castle. Abdal Kadūs Kohbur, the elder brother of Kitteh Beg, having climbed up to the foot of the castle-wall, was hit by a large stone discharged from above, which sent him spinning down, heels over head, from that prodigious height, right forward, without touching anywhere till he lighted, tumbling and rolling, at the bottom of the glacis.² Yet he received no injury, and immediately mounted his horse and returned back to the camp. At the conduit which had the double wall, Yār Ali Belāl was severely wounded in the head with a stone. The wound was afterwards cut open and dressed. Many of our people suffered³ from these stones. The morning after the attack, before breakfast time,⁴ we had gained possession of the water-course. The action continued till evening, but after losing their water, they could no longer hold out; and next morning they asked for quarter and takes
it. and surrendered the place. Khalīl, the younger brother of Tambol, who was in command, with seventy, eighty, or a hundred of the most active young men, were kept as prisoners, and sent to Andejān to be put in close custody. This was a fortunate occurrence for such of my Begs, officers, and soldiers, as had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

After taking Mādu, I proceeded to Unjūtūbah, one of the villages of Ush. On the other hand, Tambol, after retreating from Andejān, encamped at a place called Āb-khan, one of the dependencies of Rabāt-e-Sarhang Urchīni,⁵ so that there was only the distance of about one farsang between the two armies. At this time Kamber Ali, from ill health, was obliged to retire to Ush. For a month or forty days we remained in this posture. There was no general action during that time, but every day there were skirmishes between my foragers and theirs. During this period I paid great attention to support a strict look-out by night, and dug a trench all round the camp; where there was no ditch we placed branches of trees.¹ I made all our soldiers march out and present themselves, accoutred and ready for action, by the side of the ditch; but, notwithstanding all this care, every three or four nights there was an alarm in the camp, and a call to arms. One day Sayyidī Beg Taghāi having gone out to meet and cover the return of the foragers, the enemy came upon him in much superior force, and in the midst of the action that ensued, suddenly made him prisoner.

This year Khosrou Shah, having invited Baiesanghar Mirza to join him, under pretence of proceeding to attack Balkh, carried him to Kunduz, from which place they set out on their march against Balkh. When they had reached Ubāj, Khosrou Shah, the miserable and infidel-like wretch, betrayed by the ambition of usurping the sovereign power— (how is it possible for sovereignty to appertain to such a worthless and contemptible creature, who had neither birth, nor family, nor talents, nor reputation, nor wisdom, nor courage, nor justice, nor right?) yet this reptile seized upon Baiesanghar Mirza and his Begs, strangled him with August 17,
1499. a bow-string, and thus, on the tenth day of Muharrem, murdered this most accomplished and sweet-tempered prince, who was adorned with whatever endowments rank and birth could bestow. He also put to death a number of his Begs and confidential servants.

Baiesanghar Mirza was born in Hissār in the year 882, and was the second son of Sultan Mahmūd Mirza, being younger than Sultan Masaūd Mirza, and older than Sultan Ali Mirza, Sultan Hussain Mirza, and Sultan Weis Mirza, better known by the name of Khan Mirza. His mother was Pasheh Begum.

He had large eyes, a round face, and was about the middle size; he had a Turkomān visage, and was an extremely elegant young man.

He was a lover of justice, humane, of a pleasant disposition, and a perfectly accomplished prince. His tutor was Syed Muhammed, a Shīah, whence Baiesanghar himself was tainted with the notions of that sect. It is said, however, that latterly, while at Samarkand, he retracted the errors of that system, and became purely orthodox. He was excessively addicted to wine; but, during the times that he did not drink, was regular in the performance of his prayers. He was sufficiently generous and liberal. He wrote a fine Nastālīk hand, and had considerable skill in painting. He was also a poet, and assumed the poetical name of Aādili. The poems were not so numerous as to be formed into a diwān. The following verses are his:—¹ (Persian)

Like an unsubstantial shadow I fall here and there,
And if not supported by the face of a wall, drop flat on the ground.

In Samarkand the Odes (ghazels) of Baiesanghar Mirza are so popular, that there is not a house in which a copy of them may not be found.

He fought two battles, one of them with Sultan Mahmūd Khan, when he first mounted the throne of Samarkand.² Sultan Mahmūd Khan, at the instigation of Sultan Juneid Birlās and some others, had advanced with an army for the purpose of conquering Samarkand, and marched by way of Ak-kūtal³ as far as Rabāt-e-Soghd and Kānbāi. Baiesanghar Mirza marched from Samarkand to meet him, engaged him at Kānbāi, gave him a severe defeat, and ordered the heads of three or four thousand Moghuls to be struck off. Haider Gokultāsh, who was the Khan’s prime adviser, fell in this battle. His second battle was with Sultan Ali Mirza at Bokhāra, in which he was defeated.⁴

His dominions consisted at first only of Bokhāra, which was given him by his father Sultan Mahmūd Mirza. On his father’s death the Begs held a consultation, and agreed on making him king of Samarkand also. He continued in possession of Bokhāra as well as Samarkand for some time; [A.D. 1496.] but he lost the former after the insurrection of the Terkhāns. [A.D. 1497.] When I took Samarkand, he retired to Khosrou Shah; and when Khosrou Shah took Hissār, he gave it to Baiesanghar.

He left no offspring. When he first went to Khosrou Shah, he married the daughter of his paternal uncle, Sultan Khalīl Mirza. He had no other wife or concubine.

He never exercised the powers of an independent prince, even so far as to promote any one of the men of consequence about him to the rank of a Beg of the higher class. All his Begs were those of his father and paternal uncle.

After the death of Baiesanghar, Sultan Ahmed Karāwel,¹ the father of Kūch Beg, with his brothers and relations, and their families and dependants, came through the country of Karatigīn,² and joined me, after giving me notice of their intentions. Kamber Ali, who had been sick in Ush, having recovered from his disorder, now also returned. Hailing as a good omen this unlooked-for arrival of Sultan Ahmed Karāwel and his party to my assistance, I next morning drew out my army in array, and moved against Tambol
retreats in
disorder, the enemy; who, not finding themselves strong enough to maintain their position at Āb-khan, marched off from their ground. A number of tents and carpets, and a quantity of baggage, fell into the hands of my soldiers. We advanced and occupied the same ground which the enemy had left. That same evening Tambol, taking Jehāngīr with him, and
occupies
Khūbān. passed on my left and entered Khūbān, a village on my flank, about three farsangs off, towards Andejān.

Early next morning, having drawn up my army in regular battle array, with right and left wing, centre and advance, and covered the horses with their housings of mail, accoutred my men in their armour, formed them into lines, and sent forward the infantry that carried the tūras, we proceeded towards the enemy. Ali Dost Taghāi and his followers formed my right. On the left wing were stationed Ibrahīm Sāru, Weis Lāghari, Sayyidī Kāra, Muhammed Ali Mubasher, Kūchik Beg¹ the elder brother of Khwājeh Kalān, and a number of others connected with Sultan Ahmed Karāwel and Kūch Beg, with their followers.^a Kāsim Beg was with me in the centre. Kamber Ali, who had the advanced guard, with several of my adherents and young nobility, had reached Sākeh, a village to the south-east of Khūbān, and about a kos from it, when the enemy marched out of the village of Khūbān in battle array. Upon this we hastened our march as much as was compatible with prudence and the preservation of our order of battle. The tūras and infantry had, however, fallen somewhat behind when we engaged. By the divine favour their services were not required in the battle; for, at the instant of closing, the right wing of the enemy and my left having engaged hand to hand, Kūchik Beg, the elder brother of Khwājeh Kalān, and defeats
him. smote so lustily that the enemy, unable to maintain their ground, took to flight: and the flankers² and right wing of my army had not an opportunity of coming into action.^b We took a number of prisoners, whose heads I ordered to be struck off. My Begs, such as Kāsim Beg and Ali Dost Beg, but particularly Ali Dost, restrained the pursuit, being apprehensive of some danger from following the fugitives too far, by which means the greater part of them escaped. I halted at the village of Khūbān. This was my first battle, and Almighty God of his bounty and favour vouchsafed me the victory. I accepted it as a favourable omen. The day after we halted in this place my maternal grandmother, Shah Sultan Begum, came from Andejān for the purpose of begging off Jehāngīr Mirza if she had found him a prisoner. As the winter was at hand, and no grain or forage remained in the fields, I did not deem it advisable to advance against Uzkend, but returned to Andejān.

After some days I held a council, in which it was determined that my wintering in Andejān would in no degree tend to the injury of the enemy; that it was rather to be feared that it would increase their force, by leaving the fields open to their ravages and enterprise; that it was Huts his
army for
the winter. necessary to hut my troops in winter quarters, that my men might not be distressed for grain or provisions; and that we might straiten the enemy by keeping them in some measure blocked up. In pursuance of this plan, having proceeded to Rabātiki-Urchīni, which is named Suārasī¹ from being between two rivers, I decamped from Andejān, and moved into the neighbourhood of Armiān and Nūshāb, with the intention of constructing winter cantonments in that vicinity, which we accordingly did. Around these villages there is excellent sporting ground, and good cover for game. Near the river Ilāmish,^a in the jungle, there are great plenty of mountain-goats, stags, and wild hogs. In the smaller jungle, which is scattered and in clumps, there are abundance of excellent jungle-fowl^b and hares. The foxes possess more fleetness than those of any other place.^c While I remained in these winter quarters I rode a-hunting every two or three days. After scouring the larger forests, where we roused and hunted the mountain-goat and stags, we hawked in the smaller jungle for the jungle-fowl, and also shot them with forked arrows.^d The jungle-fowl are here very fat. While we remained in these winter quarters we had the flesh of jungle-fowl in great abundance.

During my stay in these cantonments, Khuda-berdi the standard-bearer, whom I had lately honoured with the rank of Beg, two or three times fell on Tambol’s foragers, routed them and cut off a number of their heads, which he brought back to the camp. The young men of the territory of Andejān and Ush also went out incessantly to plunder the enemy’s country, drove away their herds of horses, killed their men, and reduced them to great distress. Had I remained the whole winter in these cantonments, there is every reason to believe that, by the return of spring, the enemy would have been reduced to the last extremity without fighting a battle; but at the moment when I had brought them to this state of distress and embarrassment, Kamber
Ali returns
to his
govern-
ment. Kamber Ali asked leave to go to his government; and, whatever pains I took to impress these views on his mind, and though I forbade him to leave me, the brutal fellow persisted in his resolutions. He was a wonderfully fickle and perverse man. Compelled by necessity, I finally gave him permission to return to his country. His first government was Khojend; and recently when I took Andejān I had given him Asfera and Kandbādām; so that, of all my Begs, Kamber Ali had the greatest number of retainers and the greatest extent of country; no other equalled him in either of these respects. We remained forty or fifty days Bābur dis-
misses his
troops. in these winter quarters. Being obliged to give leave to a number of men to go off, in the same way as I had done to Kamber Ali, in the end I myself found it expedient to return to Andejān.

While I stayed in the winter cantonments,^a some of Tambol’s people were going back and forward without intermission to and from the Khan at Tāshkend. Ahmed Beg, who was the Governor¹ of Sultan Muhammed Sultan, the son of Sultan Mahmūd Khan, and who, of all his Begs, had been distinguished by the most conspicuous marks of his favour, was paternal uncle of the full blood to Tambol. Beg Tīlbeh, who was the Khan’s Chamberlain,² was the elder brother of Tambol. By coming and going about the Khan, they wrought upon him to send a body of men to Tambol’s assistance. Beg Tīlbeh, from his infancy, had been in Moghulistān, and had grown up to manhood among the Moghuls, but had never come into our countries, nor taken service with any of our princes, having always remained in the employment of the Khans. On the present occasion, before this reinforcement was sent, he left his wife and family in Tāshkend, and went and joined his younger brother Tambol.

At this time an awkward incident occurred to Kāsim Ajab, whom I had left in the temporary command of Akhsi. Having gone out with a few men in pursuit of a marauding party, he had followed them rather rashly, and crossed the river of Khojend at Bikhrātā in the pursuit, when he fell in with a large body of Tambol’s men, and was taken prisoner.

When Tambol learned the disbanding of my army, and had conferred with his elder brother Beg Tīlbeh, who had reached him with advices from the Khan,^a and given him certain assurances of the coming of reinforcements, he marched from Uzkend to the district termed Suārasī between the two rivers. At the same time I received certain intelligence from Kāsān, that the Khan had sent off^b his Sulten Mu-
hammed
Khanekeh
besieges
Kāsān. son Sultan Muhammed Khanekeh, who was generally called Sultānim, accompanied by Ahmed Beg, and five or six thousand men, who had passed by the route of Archehkend, and come and laid siege to Kāsān. Without constraining Bābur com-
pels him to
raise the
siege. myself by waiting for such of my troops as were at a distance, taking with me only such of my men as were ready at hand, without delay, in the depth of winter, placing my reliance in Almighty God, I marched from Andejān by way of Bendsālār to attack Sultānim and Ahmed Beg. That night we halted nowhere, and next morning we arrived at Akhsi. The cold during the night was extremely intense,¹ insomuch that several of my people were frost-bitten in the hands and feet, and the ears of some of them were contracted and withered^a like an apple. We did not tarry at Akhsi, but having placed Yārek Taghāi in charge of that place in the room of Kāsim Ajab, I passed on for Kāsān. When I arrived within one kos of Kāsān, I received intelligence that Ahmed Beg and Sultānim, on being informed of my approach, had broken up in confusion, and retreated in great haste.

The moment that Tambol knew of my march, he had set out with all speed to the assistance of his elder brother, and now came up. It was about the time between afternoon and evening prayers, when the blackness occasioned by the approach of Tambol’s army became visible in the direction of Noukend.¹ Confounded and disconcerted at the sudden but escapes
to Arkhiān. and unnecessary retreat of his elder brother, as well as by my expeditious arrival, he instantly drew up. I said, ‘It is God himself that has conducted them hither, and brought them so far to fatigue their horses! Let us come on, and by the favour of God, not one of those who have fallen into our hands shall escape out of them.’ Weis Lāghari and some others, however, represented that the day was now far spent; that if we let them alone that day it was out of their power to escape during the night, and that we could afterwards confront them wherever they were found.^b This advice was followed, and they were not attacked. And thus when, by a piece of rare good fortune, the enemy had come, as if to put themselves in our power, we suffered them to get away without the slightest injury. There is a saying,

(Tūrki)—	He that does not seize what comes into his grasp, Must indulge his regret even to old age, and repine.
Persian)—	Occasion must be leaped on when it offers; The doings of the indolent, out of season, are utterly worthless.

Regarding the interval granted them till morning as most precious, they rested nowhere all night, but rode on till they gained the fortress of Arkhiān. When morning came we went against the enemy, but they were not to be found. Bābur pur-
sues him. We pursued them, and as we did not judge it advisable to lay close siege to Arkhiān, encamped a kos from it in a village of Nemengān.¹ We continued thirty or forty days in this station, while Tambol remained in the fortress of Arkhiān. Small parties sometimes advanced from my army, and were met by parties from the fort, when skirmishes ensued in the ground between us. One night they made a sally to surprise us, but stopped on the outside of the camp, and retired, after discharging a few arrows. We drew a trench around the camp, and fenced it with branches of trees, so that they could do us no injury.

While we remained in this encampment, Kamber Ali, who had taken umbrage, was two or three times on the point of returning to his own government; he once actually mounted, and had set out, but several Begs being sent after him, with a great deal of difficulty prevailed on him to come back.

About the same time Syed Yūsef Machemi sent a person to Sultan Ahmed Tambol to inform him of his wish to enter his service, and finally joined him. Among the districts along the bottom of the hills of Andejān, there are two called Oīghūr and Machem. Syed Yūsef was the kalān² or Head-man of Machem. He had lately become known to me, by sight, among my courtiers, had taken it into his head to shake off the kalāntar, and affected the airs of a Beg, though nobody had ever made him a Beg. He was a wonderfully sly, treacherous, unsettled sort of a creature. From the period when I took Andejān³ until the present occasion, he had two or three times joined me against Tambol, and two or three times gone over and joined Tambol against me. This, however, was the last time that he ever rebelled. He had with him a number of Īls, Ulūses, and Aimāks.¹ ‘They must be prevented from uniting with Tambol,’ we exclaimed, ‘and we must catch him on the road.’ Bābur
marches to
Bishkhā-
rān. So saying, we took to horse. On the third day we reached the vicinity of Bishkhārān, but Tambol had arrived and entered the fort. Of the Begs who accompanied me on this expedition, Ali Derwīsh Beg, Kūch Beg, and their brothers, advanced close up to the gates of Bishkhārān and had some gallant skirmishes with the enemy. Kūch Beg and his brothers particularly distinguished themselves. Some of them fought with great intrepidity and success.

I halted on an eminence at the distance of one kos from Bishkhārān. Tambol, bringing Jehāngīr along with him, came and encamped, resting on the fort of Bishkhārān. In the course of three or four days, several Begs, who were by no means friendly to my interests, such as Ali Dost and Kamber Ali the skinner, with their dependants and adherents began to talk of peace and an accommodation. Those who were really attached to me were kept entirely in the dark as to the intended treaty, and we were altogether averse to it. But, as the two personages who have been named were the Begs of chief authority, it was to be apprehended that, if we did not listen to their wishes, and refused to make peace, more serious consequences might follow. It was necessary A peace
concluded. therefore to comply, and a peace was concluded on the following terms: That the country lying on the Akhsi side The terms. of the river of Khojend should belong to Jehāngīr Mirza; that on the Andejān side to me: that Uzkend,² too, should be given up to me, when they had withdrawn their wives and families from it: that after we had settled our territories, I and Jehāngīr Mirza should unite and proceed in concert against Samarkand; and that, as soon as I had conquered and gained complete possession of Samarkand, I should resign Andejān to Jehāngīr Mirza. The day after these conditions were agreed on, it being towards the end of Rajeb,³ Jehāngīr Mirza and Tambol came and paid me their respects. We ratified everything that had been arranged; Jehāngīr Mirza having taken leave, proceeded to Akhsi, while I returned to Andejān. On my arrival there, I ordered Khalīl, the younger brother of Tambol, and a number of other prisoners, to be brought out, and having given them dresses of honour, dismissed them. The enemy on their part released such of my Begs and officers as had been taken prisoners, as Taghāi Beg, Muhammed Dost, Mīr Shah Kuchīn, Sayyidī Beg, Kāsim Ajab, Pīr Weis, and Mīram Dīwān, and sent them to me.

After our return to Andejān, the manners and deportment of Ali Dost Beg underwent a complete change. He began to conduct himself with great hostility towards those who had adhered to me in all my dangers and difficulties. He first of all dismissed Khalīfeh. He then imprisoned and plundered Ibrahīm Sāru and Weis Lāghari without fault or pretext; and dismissed them, after stripping them of their governments. He next fell upon Kāsim Beg, and got quit of him. He published a proclamation, that Khalīfeh and Ibrahīm Sāru were staunch friends of Khwājeh Kazi, and had intended to murder him in revenge for the Kazi’s blood. His son Muhammed Dost began to assume the state of a sovereign. His style of intercourse,^a his entertainments, his levee, his furniture, were all those of a king. The father and son ventured on such doings, relying on the support of Tambol. Nor did I retain sufficient authority or power to be able to check them in their outrageous proceedings; for, while I had close at hand an enemy so powerful as Tambol, who was always eager to afford them his aid, and to bear them out in any act, however violent, they might safely do whatever their hearts desired. My situation was singularly delicate, and I was forced to be silent. Many were the indignities which I suffered at that time, both from the father and son.

Āisha Sultan Begum, the daughter of Sultan Ahmed Mirza, to whom I had been betrothed in the lifetime of my father and uncle, having arrived in Khojend, I now married her, in the month of Shābān. In the first period of my being a married man, though I had no small affection for her, yet, from modesty and bashfulness, I went to her only once in ten, fifteen, or twenty days. My affection afterwards declined, and my shyness increased; insomuch, that my mother the Khanum, used to fall upon me and scold me with great fury, sending me off like a criminal to visit her once in a month or forty days.

At this time there happened to be a lad belonging to the camp-bazaar, named Bāburi. There was an odd sort of coincidence in our names:—

Before this I never had conceived a passion for any one; and indeed had never been so circumstanced as either to hear or witness any words spoken expressive of love or amorous passion.^a1 In this situation I composed a few verses in Persian,^b of which the following is a couplet:

Never was lover so wretched, so enamoured, so dishonoured as I;
And may fair never be found so pitiless, so disdainful as thou!

Sometimes it happened that Bāburi came to visit me; when, from shame and modesty, I found myself unable to look him direct in the face. How then is it to be supposed that I could amuse him with conversation or a disclosure of my passion? From intoxication and confusion of mind I was unable to thank him for his visit; it is not therefore to be imagined that I had power to reproach him with his departure. I had not even self-command enough to receive him with the common forms of politeness. One day while this affection and attachment lasted, I was by chance passing through a narrow lane with only a few attendants, when, of a sudden, I met Bāburi face to face. Such was the impression produced on me by this rencounter, that I almost fell to pieces. I had not the power to meet his eyes, or to articulate a single word. With great confusion and shame I passed on and left him, remembering the verses of Muhammed Sālih:

I am abashed whenever I see my love;
My companions look to me, and I look another way.

The verses were wonderfully suited to my situation. From the violence of my passion and the effervescence of youth and madness, I used to stroll bare-headed and barefoot through lane and street, garden and orchard, neglecting the attentions due to friend and stranger; and the respect due to myself and others:

Sometimes, like a distracted man, I roamed alone over the mountains and deserts; sometimes I went wandering about from street to street in search of mansions^a and gardens. I could neither sit nor go; I could neither stand nor walk.

This same year a quarrel broke out between Sultan Ali Mirza¹ and Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān, originating in the high state and overbearing influence attained by the Terkhāns. They² had taken complete possession of the whole of Bokhāra, and did not give any one a single dang¹ from its revenues. Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān had in like manner gained unbounded influence in Samarkand, and conferred all the districts belonging to it on his own sons, his followers, and adherents: and, excepting a small provision settled on him from the revenue of the city, not a fils² from any other quarter reached Sultan Ali Mirza. The Sultan had now grown up to man’s estate, and it was not to be expected that he could continue to submit to such Muhammed
Mazīd Ter-
khān flies
from Sa-
markand. treatment. In conjunction with some of his most attached servants, he formed a design against Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān, who, having got notice of the plot, left the city with his domestics and servants, his adherents and retainers, along with such of the Begs as were intimately connected with him, such as Sultan Hussain Arghūn, Pīr Ahmed, Khwajeh Hussain, the younger brother of Ūzūn Hassan, Kāra Birlās, Sālih Muhammed, and several other Begs and cavaliers.

At this period, Sultan Mahmūd Khan dispatched Khan Mirza,³ accompanied by Muhammed Hussain Dughlet, Ahmed Beg, and a number of his Moghuls,⁴ against Samarkand. Hāfiz Beg Duldāi, with his son, Tāhir Beg, were the governors of Khan Mirza. Hassan Nabīreh, Hindū Beg, and a great many cavaliers, from attachment to Hāfiz Beg and Tāhir Beg, deserted from Sultan Ali Mirza and joined Mirza Khan. Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān sent messengers to invite Khan Mirza and the Moghul army; and himself, advancing to the territory of Shādwār, had a conference with Mirza Khan and the Moghul Begs. The Moghul Begs, however, agreed so ill with Muhammed Beg and the others, that they even formed the design of seizing upon him; but he and his Begs having discovered the plot, made their escape from the Moghul army by stratagem. After the defection of this force, the Moghuls found themselves unable to maintain their ground alone. Sultan Ali Mirza, accompanied by a small force which he had with him at the time, pushed on by rapid marches from Samarkand, and overtook and fell upon Khan Mirza and the Moghul army, as they but is de-
feated by
Sultan Ali
Mirza. reached their ground at Yār-ailāk. The Moghuls were unable to sustain the attack, and fled in confusion. Thus, towards the close of his life, Sultan Ali Mirza performed one tolerably fair achievement.

Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān, and the rest of his party, seeing that they had now nothing to expect from Sultan Ali Mirza, or the Mirzas his brothers,^a dispatched Abdal Wahāb (a Moghul, who had formerly been in my service, and who, at the siege of Andejān, had gallantly exerted himself, and freely hazarded his life to support Khwājeh Kazi), for the purpose of inviting me to their assistance. I was at that time in the sad condition which has been mentioned. I was fully resolved to attempt Samarkand, and, in making peace, this had been the view held out to me. I now, therefore, immediately sent the Moghul to Akhsi to Jehāngīr Mirza, post, with relays of horses, while I myself set out against Samarkand with such troops as were along with me. It was the month of Zilkaadeh when I marched on June 1500. the expedition. On the fourth day I reached Kaba,^b1 and halted. About the time of afternoon prayers, I received Hears of the
loss of Ush. intelligence that Khalīl, Sultan Ahmed Tambol’s younger brother, had surprised the fortress of Ush.

The affair happened in this way: At the peace, the prisoners, the chief of whom was Khalīl, the younger brother of Tambol, had been set at liberty, as has been mentioned. Tambol had sent Khalīl, in order to remove his family and effects from Uzkend. Having entered Uzkend under pretence of carrying away the family, day after day he promised to carry them off; but, under one pretext or another, never left the place. When I had set out on my expedition, availing himself of the opportunity, and perceiving Ush to be destitute of troops, he made an attack in the night, and took it by surprise.

When this news reached me, I judged it inexpedient, on several accounts, either to halt or turn back against him; I therefore continued to advance on Samarkand. One of the reasons which influenced me was, that all my soldiers of note had gone off different ways, each to his own home, to make ready their accoutrements and arms, and, relying on the peace, we had never suspected any craft or treachery from our enemy. Another was, that the intrigues and cabals of Kamber Ali and Ali Dost, two of my Begs of the first eminence, now began to be very evident, so that all confidence in them was at an end, as I have already given to understand. A farther motive was, that as the party of the nobles of Samarkand, at the head of whom was Muhammed Mazīd Terkhān, had sent to invite me, it would have been most absurd, on account of a small place like Andejān, to lose time, and perhaps such a noble capital as Samarkand. From Kaba we advanced to Marghinān, which I had bestowed on Sultan Ahmed Beg, the father of Kūch Beg. He was himself prevented by his situation and connexions from accompanying me, and remained in Marghinān; but his son, Kūch Beg, with one or two of his brothers, went along with me. We proceeded by way of Aspera, and halted on reaching Mahen, a village belonging to that district. By a fortunate coincidence, Kāsim Beg, with his troops, Ali Dost, with his men, Syed Kāsim, and a very considerable number of good soldiers, that very night arrived in Mahen, as if they had come post by assignation, and all joined me. Leaving Mahen, and passing by the route of the plain Yasān, we reached Uratippa, crossing the bridge of Chupān. Kamber Ali, confiding in Tambol, had gone from his own government of Khojend to Akhsi, in order to consult with him regarding the arrangements of Kamber
Ali seized
by Tambol. the army; no sooner had he reached that place, than he was taken into custody, and Tambol advanced to seize his districts; verifying the Tūrki proverb:

To trust a friend will show you raw;
Your friend will stuff your hide with straw.

While they were conducting him from one place to another, however, he effected his escape by the way, and, barefooted and bareheaded,^a after encountering a multitude of hardships, came and joined me while I was at Uratippa.

At Uratippa I received intelligence that Sheibāni Khan had defeated Bāki Terkhān, at the fort of Dabūsi,¹ and was advancing against Bokhāra. From Uratippa, by the route of Ilāk-burkeh, I reached Sangrāz,² the commandant of which surrendered the place. As Kamber Ali had joined me in a ruined state, and completely plundered, I left him Bābur
reaches Yu-
ret-Khan. behind in Sangrāz, and advanced forward. When we had reached Yuret-Khan, the Begs of Samarkand, at the head of whom was Muhammed Mazīd Khan, came to meet me, and tendered me their duty. I consulted with them about the taking of Samarkand. They assured me that Khwājeh Yahya was attached to me; and that if he could be prevailed upon heartily to co-operate, Samarkand might be taken with the greatest facility, without combat or struggle. I therefore several times sent persons to confer with Khwājeh Yahya. The Khwājeh did not send me any message, but silently used every exertion to facilitate my entrance into Samarkand; at the same time, he did not say a word to make me despair of success.^b

Marching from Yuret-Khan, I advanced to the Derghām.³ From the banks of the Derghām I sent Khwājeh Muhammed Ali, my librarian, to Khwājeh Yahya. He brought me back instructions to advance, and that the city should be given up to me. Mounting just at nightfall, we left the Derghām, and rode towards the city. But Sultan Mahmūd Duldāi, the father of Sultan Muhammed Duldāi, having deserted from me at Yuret-Khan, and gone over to the enemy, had informed them of our proceedings; so that, our motions being discovered, the design did not succeed. I therefore returned back to the banks of the Derghām.

While I remained encamped there,^a Ibrahīm Sāru Minkaligh, who had received many favours from me, but whom Ali Dost had plundered and driven from my service while we were at Yār-ailāk, returned, accompanied by Muhammed Yūsef, the son of Syed Yūsef Beg, and again entered into my service. The greater part of my Begs and most attached servants, whom Ali Dost Beg, from jealousy, had treated ill, banishing some of them, plundering others, and ruining the rest by heavy contributions,^b all returned to me at this period, one after another. The power of Ali Dost was now gone. He had placed his entire reliance on Tambol, and had harassed and persecuted me and all my friends. I had conceived a rooted dislike to the man. Partly from shame and partly from apprehension, he could no longer remain with me, and asked leave to retire, which Ali Dost
and his son
allowed to
retire. I granted with great pleasure. Ali Dost and Muhammed Dost, on leaving me, went and joined Tambol, by whom they were received and treated with much distinction; and I afterwards had many proofs of the mutinous and Their
future
history. incendiary temper of both father and son. A year or two after, Ali Dost was seized with a cancerous sore¹ in the hands, of which he died. Muhammed Dost went among the Uzbeks, where he did not succeed badly; but there, also, having been guilty of some piece of treachery to those whose salt he ate, he was obliged to flee, and came to the hilly districts of Andejān, where he spirited up some disturbances; but falling at last into the hands of the Uzbeks, they put out his eyes, and thus was verified the saying, ‘the salt has seized his eyes.’.²

After they had taken leave, I dispatched Ghūri Birlās with a party of horse towards Bokhāra, in quest of intelligence. He brought me back information that Sheibāni Khan had taken Bokhāra, and was marching on Samarkand. Not thinking my stay in that neighbourhood advisable, I proceeded towards Kesh,¹ in which place were the families of many of the Begs of Samarkand. A week or two after and Samar-
kand. my arrival there, information was brought that Sultan Ali Mirza had delivered up Samarkand to Sheibāni Khan.

The circumstances of this event are as follows: The mother of Sultan Ali Mirza, named Zuhreh Beghi Agha, was led by her stupidity and folly to send a messenger privately to Sheibāni Khan, proposing that, if he would marry her, her son should surrender Samarkand into his hands, on condition that, when Sheibāni recovered his own paternal dominions, he should restore Samarkand to Sultan Ali Mirza. Abū Yūsef Arghūn was let into the secret of this plan; nay, that traitor may be fairly regarded as the original projector of it.