I WAS in Kerman when the defeat of the army of the Kizil Bâsh and the return of the Great Khan from Bagdad took place. It occurred to me that at this juncture it might be easy to reach Basra and Najaf Ashraf from the ports of Fars. With this idea I set off for Bender Abbâsi. On the road I suffered great distress from my infirmity and from the violent fits of the quartan ague with which it was now sixteen months since I had been first attacked. At length I arrived at the Port, and finding that the voyage by sea to Basra was not yet practicable I there remained. A short time afterwards, the news came of the arrival of the Great Khan a second time before Bagdad and of the blockade of its inhabitants, and put a stop to the attainment of my object.
Mohammed Khan Balôch held sway over the province of Fârs, and had secretly spread a report of his intention to make the conquest of Isphâhân and of Irâk, and to release Shah Tahmâsb from confinement. The commissioners of the Great Khan who were established in Isphâhân and the surrounding districts, becoming alarmed at their inability to make resistance, represented his rebellion in the most exaggerated terms to the Great Khan, and described the danger of revolution as very great. The Khan had brought the affair of Bagdad near to a conclusion, and boundless fear had taken possession of Ahmed Pasha and the besieged, who had absolutely no longer any pretence or means to hold the fort: and about that time it would have been subdued, but for the events in Fars and Irâk, which disturbed the Khan's mind. Thinking it no longer advisable to stay in those parts, he proposed articles of peace to Ahmed Pasha, and certain terms were agreed on, which the Pasha had never hoped to obtain, and now regarded as the greatest blessing.
The Khan, determined to repress the rebellion of Mohammed Khan, moved from Bagdad with the quickness of lightning and the swiftness of the wind, and arrived at the town of Shôshter. The inhabitants of that place were publicly known to have given in their submission to Mohammed Khan, and were suspected to favour all his projects; and now after the execution of Abo El Fatah Khan, governor of that country, a great number of the Ayâns and the commonalty of the town were beheaded with the sword of chastisement; and it would be impossible to relate what contempt and disgrace, rapine and plunder, murder and captivity fell upon the inhabitants of that country.
The Great Khan dispatched a division of his army on the side of Fars, and followed also himself in the rear. Mohammed Khan on his part set out from Shiraz with what troops he had, in the intention to give him battle; and the meeting took place on the territory of Kohkiloyah. Mohammed Khan bravely stood his ground, and after some severe engagements he was near proving himself victorious. At that moment the report was spread of the approach of the Great Khan, who was coming up behind the van of his army. On this the soldiers of Fârs were frightened out of their minds, and as night was come on, the greatest part of them, concealing their shame behind the curtain of darkness, quitted their banners and dispersed. At day-break scarcely any one remained with Mohammed Khan; only just round his tent were left a few of his own tribe and his relatives and servants, who did not amount to three thousand persons. Mohammed Khan had no alternative but to retire from the field, and being come in all haste to Lâr,1 he there left one of his tribe with a body of troops as governor, and turned his endeavours to collect together an army among the inhabitants of the warm countries, that he might again prepare himself for the combat.
IN Bender Abbâsi were some revenue officers of the Great Khân, and at that time some also came from Mohammed Khan; and each party exercised both insolence and oppression. One day a severe act of tyranny was practised on some of the wretched inhabitants, and my distressed heart lost all patience at the sight of it. I was unable to remain quiet, and determined to quit the country. At that very time there was a vessel bound for the coast of Sind, and my resolution was fixed to go in it. This was the tenth day of Ramadzân the blessed, one thousand one hundred and forty-six. A captain of the English European Company, being informed of my intention, came to my lodging, and began to dissuade me from going to India. He enumerated some of the deformities in the qualities of that empire, and endeavoured to prevail upon me to go to Europe. Though he importuned me very much on this subject, I would not consent; and on that very day leaving every thing with an adieu behind me, I went alone on board the ship and sailed for Sind, or India, where I landed in one of the harbours of Tatah.
It was the beginning of the month Shavvâl when I arrived in that town. I did not wish that any person should know me in that country. But it was almost impossible for it to be so; and the very same day that I arrived at Tatah, a company of merchants of that town, who had seen me in Fars, became informed of my visit. A number of Persians also were residing there, most of whom were among my acquaintance. In short, this idea of remaining incognito was not realized in any city of that empire. Had it been possible, it would have been the means of removing much of my inconveniences and afflictions, and many of my innumerable griefs; and to the degree that I am, I should not be distressed with various anxiety and anguish, and with the feeling of utter helplessness. For in reality the hardship and pain of being alone and without friends have always been the companions and engrossers of my time from the day of my arrival here until the moment of writing this, which is the latter end of the year one thousand one hundred and fifty-four (A. D. 1742); yet in consequence of my celebrity, my body and soul have been worn out with the occasional visits and hourly conversations of the various classes of worldly persons, who have become frequenters of my house. To explain the nature of their character and business and the multiplied features of their occasions and arguments would not be worth the labour. To me, who do not reckon the time of my residence in this country as a portion of my real life, the beginning of my arrival on the shores of this empire appears as it were the end of my age and vitality. During this period of eight years I have seen the whole country from Tatah to the town of Dehli, known also by the name of Shâh Jehân Abâd; and whatever I had heard or found in books of the qualities, circumstances, and situations of this empire and its inhabitants, all has passed under my view; and I have moreover witnessed and been made acquainted with that which I had not heard, and which had never occurred to my mind or imagination.
After a residence of more than two months in Tatah I reproached myself with my want of patience, and for my departure out of Persia, and repented of not choosing to travel to the kingdoms of Europe. But now the season of sea-voyages was past, and summer was come on; and to turn back to Persia or any other place it was necessary to wait for the next season. However in that town, from its want of water, its bad atmosphere, and the ugliness of its situation, qualities that form the common appearance of this whole empire, I found it impossible to rest. The people told me, ‘You must go to the city of Khodâ Abâd, which is one of the most populous of India, and is but a few days' journey hence. Much preparation is not required. You can go in a boat by the channel of the river which is made navigable from the neighbourhood of Tatah to the ridge of that city.’ And so it was decreed that I should act.
Having embarked in a boat I arrived at Khodâ Abâd. Here from the violence of the heat and the unpleasantness of the air, the attacks of sorrow and my struggles with hardship and adversity, I was seized with a variety of severe diseases, and for the space of seven months I lay ill and abandoned to destitution of every friend. When some of my disorders abated, and I found it impossible for diverse reasons to remain any longer in that place, a strange perplexity presented itself to my mind.
Finally, by the imperious decree of fate, I again embarked in a passage-boat and arrived in the city of Bhakorr, which is distant only a few days' journey on the bank of the same river Sind, or Indus. Altogether my nature had no agreement with the fashions and manners of this country, nor any power of patiently enduring them; and my friendlessness, want of means, and deficiency of ability were an additional source of desolation and grief. After a stay here of near a month, weakness and an alteration in my bodily constitution reduced me to an extreme, and having no other alternative I took my seat in a litter and departed in the direction of Moltân. Having performed the stages of that journey with excessive trouble, I arrived at a village near to the fortifications of that city and there halted.
The sight of these dominions became more and more hateful to me, and being continually in hope of my escape from them, I reconciled my mind to the incidents in the affairs of Persia, and bent my thoughts on my return thither. Its possibility however was not realized, and the length of my residence in this village, in solitude and want, approached to a term of two years, during which, amidst the anguish of my sufferings and the sourness of my humours, I sometimes employed myself in writing. To my scared wits and scattered senses this was the burthen I gave my song:
Lines.1Musician, strike up a tune, and Cup-bearer, give wine;To Fortune give a fillip, and to the Sphere a repulsive answer.
During that residence I also composed a Treatise, called Kando 'L Marâm, on the Explanation of Fate and Destiny and the Creation of Acts, with some other treatises.
And let it not be concealed, that the incidents and circumstances of the days of my stay in this country come not within the possibility of detail, and I should be ashamed to apply myself to the mention of even a summary of them, for they are absolutely unfit to be exposed and narrated; and were I to turn the reins of my pen to the description of the remaining adventures of my own life, I should inevitably be led to depict some of the crimes and shameful things in the circumstances and qualities of this country, traced as it is with foulness, and trained to turpitude and brutality; and I should grieve for my pen and paper. It is better that my readers should be left to picture to themselves the end and termination of my life, after the manner that I have described the beginning of my arrival in these regions.
This also should not remain concealed, that the whole affair of writing these pages, and my application to the task of drawing up an abstract of these adventures, was not the habit of my pen, nor the addiction of my mind; nor was it proper to my times, nor desired of my heart, nor familiar to my humble nature; but on the contrary my thought and opinion were strange to this propensity, and so cautious of it, that it never entered my mind. For, not to consider the unsuitableness of tale-telling with my circumstances and with the dignity and rank which I am bound to maintain, nor the smallness of the profit to be gained by descending to the meanness of such discourse, there were other prohibitions and blemishes attached to it, which rendered it unworthy of me. For some speeches may not improbably in the sight of the uninformed have an appearance of arising from a habit of ostentation, which is the main principle of the mean-principled, and in my opinion is the head and chief of all vices. But, praise and thanks be to God, my excessive deviation and declension from this propensity are so constitutional and have been carried to such a pass, as to have rather occasioned me obscurity in the world and fortuitous contempt. The true cause of writing this hasty sketch was, that at this time, which is the end of the year one thousand one hundred and fifty-four (A. D. 1742) sitting in a retired corner in the town of Dehli, I was a prey to grief and disease, and my temper and mind were distracted. Full to the lip with anguish, I was utterly abandoned by ease and quiet, and, amidst the vacation of all employment and the assaults of my inward grief, there was nothing to engage my serious attention, at the same time that all my nights were sleepless. Having, therefore, no other choice of amusement, I scribbled in the course of two nights, as far as this place, whatever came to the tongue of my pen of the summary of my adventures. May the reader fold up this epitome in the lappet of forgiveness and indulgence! It is a memorial of the accidents of unpropitious fortune, of distracted affairs, and of an afflicted head and heart. 1To God is my complaint from refractory fortune, and from odious men, of little shame, but abundant misery. Some of them are learned, some ignorant; some are princely commanders, some simple fools; and they have taken their lust for their lord. Ruin be upon them and perdition! O God, pour out patience on us, and take to thyself our spirits, which are resigned to thy divine command.
Arabic Poetry.1May it please God not to prolong our abode in this world, whose valueEquals not in the eye of the understanding a grain of pulse.The world turns away from ingenuous men with a frown,But accommodates itself to the mean wretch, who submits to every indignity.Persian.1Heavy is fallen on us the weight of the mountain of sorrow which crushes our bosom;May God grant patience to our hearts, which have been removed from their place of rest.
And now, as the relation of some of my adventures subsequent to my arrival in this country has involuntarily fallen from my pen, there will be no harm, should I briefly conclude the description of the remainder.
After I had been a long time resident in Moltân an extraordinary event occurred. The channel of the river Indus, which passes along that territory, overflowed in the heat of summer, and covered the streets and fields; and much destruction ensued to the buildings and dwelling-houses of the whole country. All intercourse and business was carried on by means of boats, and numbers of persons were drowned. When the season of harvest arrived, the inundation abated from the fields and villages, and some of the high grounds were left dry. The aged persons of the place said, that it had happened in like manner an age before, and that after the decrease of the waters, the disease of pestilence became common, and an immense number of the population perished. So it was this year. The people were attacked with a shaking fever, which was mostly intermittent; and very few recovered from this disorder, which absolutely admitted no remedy. They who applied medicines, and those who applied none, all alike perished; with the exception of a few who left the country, or in whose fate there was some delay. This calamity extended itself over a space of near five months; and I also was attacked with the full violence of the fever, in such sort, that not one of its symptoms escaped me. In the village where I dwelt not a single inhabitant remained on the spot, and in the depopulation which succeeded, even the most indispensable necessaries of life were not to be found. Of all things the most necessary was the attendance of a servant, who at this time was as rare as the phœnix; and if, by singularity, any person could be found in the commencement of the calamity, who was in health for the employment, after two or three days he fell sick, and was himself in need of a nurse and an attendant, till he died.
The hardship of living and of subsistence at all times in India is evident to every person who may have seen the rest of the kingdoms of the earth; and the causes and occasions of this hardship are more than can be numbered. In fact, all the situations and conditions of this country are condemned by fate to difficulty and bitterness of subsistence; but this sense of things is not revealed to its inhabitants, who, on the contrary, think themselves more independent for the blessings of life, and more prosperous and easy in their circumstances, than any nation in the world. These hardships indeed, and their tumultuous struggles for livelihood, are agreeable to their natures and digestible to their stomachs. They are not even regarded, and are proper to every condition. Subsistence in these countries without the union of three things is almost impossible. These are gold in plenty, violence the most exorbitant, and utter insensibility. But to render possible the assemblage of these three requisites the constitution of the country is extremely emaciated and destitute of vigour, and the meanest thing cannot be procured without labour, and perplexity, and expectation. That quantity of business which in other kingdoms may be expedited with one man of industrious ability, here with ten persons comes to no conclusion; and whatever increase is given to your servants and train of officers, and to your means and appliances of power, the posture of your affairs becomes but the more untoward and disordered.
From Moltân I had no choice but to set off in all that distress for Lâhôr, which city I reached with the greatest difficulty. After some time the fever left me, and health re-appeared. Having staid here, I think, three months, I found it disagreeable for some reasons to remain in that city any longer, and I was forced by necessity to travel. The roads and highways of this whole empire are at all times unsafe and dangerous; and though I had an aversion to the idea, and felt disgust at the very thought of going to the town of Dehli, which is the residence of the Emperor of India, I could not help removing from Lâhôr and was carried to Dehli by the irresistible hand of fate. Here, after a stay of more than twelve months, I was disquieted by the attacks of anxious thought, and being firmly fixed in my intention of quitting this country, I returned to Lâhôr. The purpose of my mind was this, that having gone by the route of Kâbol to Candahâr, I would choose for my retirement in the province of Khorâsân any corner that might chance to suit me. Just about the time of my arrival in Lâhôr, the news came of the march of the army of the Kizil Bâsh to Candahâr, with intent to subdue and rescue it from the hands of the Afghâns, and it was announced that they had already invested that fortress. A severe attack of illness also, which laid me on the bed of infirmity, was protracted to a considerable length; and the atmosphere having become heated, the season, in this country, of showers and heavy rain commenced, and my stay in Lâhôr concluded in being durable. I still was looking out for the news of the settlement of the affair of Candahâr, that so serious an obstacle might be removed from my line of road: but the siege of that town and the disturbances in those confines were prolonged to a great extent.
I WILL now, in this place, give a compendious summary of the events, which after my departure from Persia to Hindôstân, I heard, and was with certainty informed, had fallen out in the former empire; in order that, completing the relation of these occurrences also, I may not leave in doubtful expectation those of my readers who turn their views to the truths of history.
Let it therefore be written by the case-describing pen, that the Great Khân, Tahmâsb Colî Khân, having abandoned the second siege of Bagdad by reason of the turbulence and revolt of Mohammed Khân the Belôch1 in Fârs, came to Kôh Kîlôh for the purpose of his extirpation. After some fighting the said Mohammed Khân being routed fled to Lâr and to the hot, or low, countries of that district, and applied himself to the meditation of his affairs. In the mean time the Great Khân, having arrived at Shirâz, set at liberty his own commissioners, who by order of Mohammed Khân were in fetters, and shewed them kindness and consolation; whilst every adherent of Mohammed Khân, wherever he fell into his hands, was instantly subjected to punishment and torture. He then sent an army into the hot countries of Lâr to effect the expulsion of Mohammed Khân, who leaving the city and castle of Lâr retired with a body of troops he had with him to those borders of the province, the peasantry of which were of the Shâfia sect and at that time were populous and collected; and there he gave his thoughts to the approvisionment of his army and to dispositions for defence. That tribe however, through a vain notion of their own, fearfully and cautiously shunned him, attributing all that opposition and altercation between him and the Great Khan, to a concert with him and a contrivance of the latter for the extirpation of their sect, which for so many years had not paid due obedience to the ruling powers; so that Mohammed Khân, however much he laboured to effect it, saw no chance of an union with that people, and how much soever he wished to make them understand, that after him no one would regard or pity them, and that alone, they were too weak to manage their affairs and to protect themselves from harm, he profited nothing. When the army of the Great Khan entered their territory, this tribe was scattered on all sides, and shut themselves up in their forts and villages; and Mohammed Khan, with a number of persons who accompanied him, took to flight, in the hope of reaching Belôchistân or Candahâr: but a detachment of the army of the Kizil Bâsh, having intercepted his road, slew a troop of his attendants and took him alive. He was carried before the Great Khan, who after severely reproaching him for his conduct, ordered his eyes to be taken out with a knife, and put him in confinement. As Mohammed Khan well knew, that he should be subjected to the most horrid and ignominious death, he seized a poniard the very same night, and destroyed himself. The army of the Great Khan, having spread the calamities of war over those low countries, quickly uprooted the sect of the Shâfias, and removing to other parts the small remnant of them who escaped the sword, they brought peasantry from other districts and settled them in those abodes.
The Great Khan, having gone to Isphahan, marched thence to Azerbâïjân, and as well within the bounds of that province as on the Turkish territory, fought several severe battles with the Turkish armies, in all of which he was victorious. Many of the Turkish generals, and an immense quantity of their troops were killed in these engagements. The Fort of Iravân, Ganjah, a part of the province of Gorjistân, and that portion of the Persian territory which had remained in their possession, all were wrested from them, and not a single place of the kingdom of Irân was left in the hands of that nation. Not content with this, having taken up his quarters for some time on the Turkish territory, he there carried on the war, and ruined and laid waste the greatest part of that country. In consequence of the continuous defeats of the Turks, the annihilation of many of their armies and of their most famous Pashas, the exhaustion of their treasuries and well-stored magazines, and the devastation of most of their frontier provinces, an extreme debility was spread over their affairs, and vigour and splendour had disappeared from their empire. From the Soltân to the peasant, over every inhabitant of that country fear and terror prevailed; and it was reported by some travellers in Hindôstân, who were returning from Hijâz, that in Egypt and Syria, and countries remote from Persia, they had witnessed the greatest consternation and dread among the inhabitants both civil and military; “so that neither had we,” said they, “any sleep or rest in the midst of them.” The Turks made repeated petitions for peace to the Great Khan; but the negotiations failed of approval and confirmation.
Next, from the Turkish territory he turned his reins towards Dâghistân, the province of the Lezgi tribe, who during the period of the revolution had wrested their heads from obedience to the king of Persia, had united with the Turks, and had not since taken the road of submission and exculpation. At first they collected together and began to make resistance; but after some chastisement and discomfiture they became suppliants for pardon and were reduced to obedience.
THE Great Khan then proceeded to Chôl Moghân, or the Plain of the Fire Worshippers, situated in Azerbâïjân, and summoning from all the countries of the empire of Persia the Ayâns, or Grandees, the Katkhodâyân, or Proprietors, and the Rîsh Safîdân, or Elders, he enforced their attendance by employing rigorous commissioners, who brought them all to appear in that place. One day the Khân having assembled a full meeting of his generals with the Turkish Ambassador, who was come to sue for peace and friendship, and on some pretext having put to death one or two of the most celebrated men of the time, he displayed before them the dread instruments of execution. In that awful assembly he began a speech on the affair of sovereignty, and addressing himself to all that groupe of persons he made allusion to military affairs and the management of the army. As it had been preconcerted, a number of his particular adherents made declarations of their sincere attachment and devoted servitude; and he then requested to have it pointed out to him by the assembly, what person was fit to be their king, and what the mode of conduct to be pursued was under the existing circumstances. The people understood his meaning and opened their mouths to utter what the exigency of their situation dictated. A book inscribed with the particulars of the assent and unanimity of the meeting was impressed with their seals. The sovereign power was abrogated from the possession of Shâh Abbâs, the proclamation of the regal dignity of the Great Khan was set forth, and his title was established as NÂDIR SHÂH. This event took place in the year one thousand one hundred and forty-eight, (A. D. 1735,)1 which date was found in the phrase AL KHEIRO FI MÂ WACAA.1 Best is what has happened. According to order, the former coin was changed; and on one face of the new pieces was stamped the name of the town of each mint where coined, with the accompanying line Bitârîkh Alkeiro fima wacaa, At the date of Alkheiro, &c. I have heard that one of the elegant poets of Irân produced a similar couplet to the following:
Lines.2We cut off all desire of property and life,At the date of Best is what has happened.
As for Shah Tahmâsb, having sent for the prince Abbâs Mirza, to be near his person, he sometimes resided in Meshed of Tôs and the town of Sabzavâr, and sometimes in Mâzenderân, attended by the guards who were charged with his custody. Nâdir Shah now applied himself to repair and beautify the buildings in the illuminated garden of Rizâ, benediction be on its inhabitants! Some of the lofty edifices on that blessed area he adorned with bricks of gold from top to bottom, and from the foot of the mountains in that district he conducted a stream of water and joined it to the river Khiyâbân, which passes along the area of the garden. In the city he raised and completed a lofty tomb for himself. After its completion, on one of the walls of the edifice was seen written the following distich,
Lines.1Thy music is or should be in every key;The world is full of thee, but thy place is empty.
The writer, though every possible search and enquiry was made after him, was not discovered.
Afterwards he went into the province of Irâk. The Bakhtiârî tribe had again raised their heads to revolt and mutiny. After severe warfare he obtained victory over them. Great numbers of that nation were killed, and the remnant fell powerless of rebellion. From these confines having fixed his resolution on marching to Candahâr, he sent notice of his intention to Hosein, brother of Mahmôd the Kilizehi, who was the ruler of that town; and set out in that direction by the route of Kermân. Hosein had in readiness a great abundance of stores and apparatus, and a well equipped army; and by his command, no sooner had Nâdir Shâh arrived on the borders of Sîstân, than a detachment of Afghâns marched to attack him; but being repulsed and overthrown, they retreated in confusion to Candahâr. When Nâdir Shah afterwards arrived in the neighbourhood of the fortress, again a regular army of Afghâns came forward to engage him, and after a hard fight, having been put to rout, they shut themselves up in the fort. Nadir Shah immediately invested that citadel, which for strength and solidity is one of the most celebrated in the universe; and the Afghâns expended all the efforts within the scope of their ability in performing the duties of vigilant bravery and circumspection, of firm resistance, and unwearied activity. But their exertions proved useless; for the army of the Kizil Bâsh obtained possession of all the dependencies and appendages of the city, and wherever an Afghân was found he became the food of the scimitar.
Nadir Shâh subsequently issued an order in his camp, that every man should build a habitation suitable to his condition; and for himself he gave directions to throw up ramparts and towers, and for the construction of a palace and some lofty edifices. The architects and workmen, who accompanied him in a great body, were not long in completing their tasks; and by the side of Candahâr a vast city with all its appurtenances sprang to view, which obtained the name of Nâdir Abâd.1
I WILL now pen a short discourse respecting Hindôstân.
To the versed in the truths of facts, and to the diligent searcher into reports and traditions it is not unknown, that the liberation and freedom of Bâber Mîrzâ, son of Mirza Omar Sheikh, from obscurity and distraction, from perplexity and distress, and his mounting on the saddle of imperial command, were not effected but by laying hold of and hanging on the skirts of the august dynasty of the prince, equal in state to Solomon, the father of permanency, Shâh Ismaïl Safavi. For every person informed in the history of the children and grand-children of the Lord of Conjunction, Amîr Tîmôr Kôrkân, well knows, what their conduct was to each other, and the conduct of the people towards them; that neglecting no single punctilio of altercation and bloody contention among themselves, they considered it their duty to murder or otherwise to injure one another; and that the people, in consequence of their disputes and tyrannical demeanour, being continually harrassed with grief and affliction and every kind of calamity and provocation, felt the existence of that family as a weight on their hearts, and bending all their thoughts to a riddance of them, neglected no means in their power, nor any moment of opportunity to slay them as they could. The happiest in his life and circumstances was the Soltân, Hosein Mirza Bâïcar, who after the establishment of his authority, with reference to the others, was extremely moderate and quiet. But after his decease and the predominance of Sheibek Khân the Ozbek, and after the extirpation of the sons of that emperor by the violence and treachery of the latter, and the elevation of the standards of his own majesty and pomp, the affairs of the remaining members of the family of Tîmôr came to such a pass of weakness, as must be generally known to all searchers of history. In short, the strength of counsel and the beam of regard of the Safavean prince, incomparable in lineage, the fame of whose majesty had spread from east to west and filled both horizons, having brought Bâber Mîrzâ into the field of splendour, gave him wings and pinions, and conferred on him all kinds of favours and continual assistance. He also, during the whole course of his life, both in the days of his empire in Hindôstân, and before that, was in the habit of recurring for support, and of manifesting the sincerity of his friendship, to that august dynasty; sometimes by giving currency to its Khotbah and coin, as in Samarcand; sometimes by sending humble petitions and supplications of requests; and thus maintaining the satisfaction and contentment of the prince, equal in state to Solomon. His children also and grand-children on any occasion of weakness and necessity, and when they had some purpose in view, always preserved this custom of recurring for support and assistance to the sublime Safavean family, and held it as the central affection of their minds; but at the time of any calamity or frightful occurrence in Irân, or at the cessation of their interested views and wants by reason of their tranquillity and the absence of all violent disputes from every corner of their Indian empire, changing their former habit into affected haughtiness and exorbitant pride, they barred up the road of intimacy. This habit has been confirmed in the nature and constitution of the line of Bâber; and it would appear that the disposition is an effect of the water and air of India; for it is evident that the people of this country cultivate no one's friendship without some selfish motive, and it is proved from ancient books and records, that also before the introduction of Islamism the Râis and Rulers of these regions were of the same temper and character. Whenever the kings of Persia were either themselves in person on their march in this direction, or had despatched any of their military commanders, the Indians seeing they had no power of victory nor of contention within their reach, affected great wretchedness and debility, and shewed every kind of obedience and the utmost readiness in paying their imposts; but after the return of the Persians to their own country, in a short space of time and on the first occasion, those Râis of confused reason, at the sight of the despicable crowds of their dependents flocking round them as in a rookery, and on view of a few handfuls of Direms and Dînârs collected together, would be tempted with the temptation of pride, and in their own house, and as far as they were free to range, began to display their empty boastings and rash falsehood, so as forgetting their past circumstances, their promises and engagements, to change altogether the tenour of their conduct.
Such treatment as I have described on the part of the Persian Sovereigns, and similar practices to those I have detailed in the behaviour of the Indians, have been repeated many times. One occasion was in the reign of Minôchehr, by whose command Sâm son of Narimân, having marched into India, established Keisô Râj in the government. Afterwards Fîrôz Râï, son of Keisô, set himself up in opposition and independence, and Keicobâd dispatched Rostam Dâstân to India, by whom Fîrôz was put to flight and ended his days in the jungles of that country. Rostam, having fixed Sôrj in the government, returned to Persia.
In like manner it happened in the reign of Sikander, and Ardeshîr Bâbek, and Kisrî Anôshîrvân, and on other occasions, for the mention of which I have no room.
The reason wherefore the Kings of Persia would not retain the government of Hindôstân in their own hands is manifest to every clear-sighted person. No man, who has a residence and place of abode such as the provinces of Persia afford, which in their nature and essence are the best adjusted and most noble, and to all outward appearance are the most beautiful and perfect habitation in the known world, will ever be able of his own choice to reside in Hindôstân. Every person's nature is so formed, that without necessity he will never consent to a long abode in this country; and this feeling is common to the King, the peasant, and the soldier. Indeed this is the situation of every man, who with sound senses has been brought up in other air and water, especially if in the empire of Persia or Turkey; unless it be of him who inconsiderately and ignorantly comes into this country, and finds no possibility of returning; or of him that by reason of obstacles and accidents has had no choice left him of remaining in a different place; and, having passed his former days in thorough hardship and poverty, unexpectedly arrives in this country at wealth and dignity, on which, being weak in his senses and mean in his disposition, he fixes his affections, and gradually acquiring the habits of his station, he at length becomes tranquil and familiarised.
I have read in the Chronicles of the Magi, that when Zahhâk, having appointed Gershâsb to the command of his troops, was about to send him to India, he gave him this commission and recommendation; that, having subdued the kingdom with all speed, he should deliver it into the hands of a Mihârâj, and return. “For,” said he, “should the army make some stay, and pass to acquaintance and familiarity with the people of those regions, it will be no longer of any service to me. I shall be compelled either to disband and set it loose in that country, or to give it up to slaughter; neither of which I think right; for the army is my right hand, which it would be madness to cut off.”
The master poet, Asadi of Tôs,1 in his Gershâsb Nâmeh has put this story into verse:
Mesnavi.1He thus gave instructions to Gershâsb:“In India bid adieu to sleep.“Spare not the blood of the soldiers,“But continually put in action the flaming sword.“With speed make an end of your important business,“And strike on them as a wolf on a flock of sheep.“Stay not the year out in that country,“Lest the army step aside from fame and valour.“Should four seasons pass over you there,“You would no longer find a trace of manlihood or bravery.
In short, the truth as regards the conduct of the Safavean Soltâns towards the kings and princes of the line of Bâber is not concealed from the nations of the world. Whenever the sovereigns of that race, according to their custom in times of self-sufficiency, shewed any neglect or delay in observing their obligations, or in performing the duties of friendship and alliance, and began to estrange themselves and affect independence, the other party, in the absence of all interested views and pretensions, and solely from a disposition to manliness and civility, again brought about a revival of that intercourse which the most sympathising and heartiest friendship demands. And, truly, some of the distinguishing qualities of the exalted Safavean race were generosity, fidelity, strict humanity, and kindly affection. History has ranked among its greatest wonders, what these princes have done towards their dependents, whether strangers or acquaintances, and even to their malignant enemies, in the day of their distress and flight to them for refuge, in granting them benefits and assistance, and every kind of aid and friendship, comfort and hospitality, sympathy bordering on perfect condescension, and the observance of every civility. This character they have placed on a high monument, and with them none either of their predecessors or successors have any pretensions to compete.
The late Soltân, Shah Soltân Hosein also, during the thirty years of his reign, observed the same conduct towards the line of Bâber, and whether for congratulation or consolation shewed no neglect in sending to them his ambassadors. When the period of the reign of that august monarch terminated, and Shah Tahmâsh succeeded to his throne, the Emperor of India, during all that disturbance which prevailed in the province of Irân, true to his ungrateful principles, never gave a thought to the precepts of his fealty, but, on the contrary, kept up an intercourse of amity and alliance with Mir Veis the Afghân. With Hosein also, the son of Veis the Afghân, at a later period, when he had become the ruler of Candahâr, notwithstanding that he had marched an army into Moltân, and had left nothing undone to depopulate and ruin that country, still after his return twice was a communication opened by way of embassy.
HOWEVER, immediately after the conquest of Isphâhân and the extirpation of the Afghâns, Shah Tahmâsb sent one of his Omarâs on an embassy to Hindôstân to inform Mohammed Shah of the recent occurrences. In his letter he gave him notice, that “whereas the rabble of the Afghâns, who have been traitors to this court and robbers of this country, have now met their due punishment, and the remnant of the sword are on their flight; and whereas from the terror of our victorious army there is no refuge for them but in India, you are requested not to give to to those perverse wretches either road or room, and not to permit that they enter your territory.” After some time Mohammed Shah wrote a reply couched in terms of no conclusion, and sent back the ambassador.
On the accession of the prince Abbâs Mirza to the place of his exalted father, one of the Omarâs was again deputed as ambassador to India, and a like message was inclosed in his despatches. A long time afterwards leave was given him to return, and by him were written precisely similar words, wherein was absolutely nothing of the soul of the business.
Nâdir Shâh, after a short interval, sent one of the most distinguished of his Kizil Bâsh to Borhân Ol Molk, who was the greatest of the Omarâs of India, and wrote a letter to Mohammed Shah and to him both. This ambassador, on his arrival at the frontier of the empire, was plundered by robbers; but after a thousand entreaties he recovered his despatches from them, and having reached his destination with the greatest difficulty, he executed the purpose of his mission. Unable, however, to find the means of returning he is still in this country.
When Nâdir Shâh had marched to Candahâr and invested that fortress, he again sent on the same mission Mohammed Khân the Turkomân, who was one of the Safavean Omarâs, and repeating the former message complained of the past conduct. As soon as the envoy arrived at Shâh Jehân Abâd, he delivered his letter and was told to wait; but they were silent as to any answer: and however much he solicited permission to depart, it was of no avail. Sometimes they were unable to agree in their own minds on the question of writing any answer at all; at other times they were confused and perplexed, in case they wrote, what titles and forms of address they should use to Nâdir Shah. The truth of the matter was this: thinking the detention of the ambassador Mohammed Khân a stroke of state policy, they waited to see, if perchance Hosein the Afghân with the troops besieged in Candahâr gained the victory over Nâdir Shâh, and destroyed him or put him to flight; on which event there would be no need of writing any answer to his letter. As, however, the siege of Candahâr was protracted and the return of Mohammed Khân delayed, Nâdir Shah wrote a Firmân to him, which he sent by some horsemen of great speed in travelling, and questioning him as to the true state of the affair, commanded him to use his best endeavours in obtaining an answer, and enjoined him to quicken his return: but as no answer was forthcoming, and the ambassador could not obtain leave for his departure, this step led to no result.
The siege of Candahâr had now lasted near twelve months, and the city of Nâdir Shâh was built up and completed by its side. Nâdir Shâh suddenly gave orders, that the army of the Kizil Bâsh should make an assault upon the fort, and scale the towers. The Afghâns were overthrown, and their strong ramparts were thrown open. Hosein was sent in fetters to Mâzenderân.
During the course of some years, and since the time that the Afghâns were routed at Shirâz, a multitude of that nation had been in continual wandering. Making their way into Hindôstân and settling in every place, most of them became attendant on the Sirkârs, and entered the Indian army. And, in truth, the obligation of repelling them which they imposed on Mohammed Shah was beyond the capacity of his power and government.
Nâdir Shâh, having issued an order for the destruction of the fortress of Candahâr, commanded that the market people and inhabitants of that place should be transferred to Nâdir Abâd, and set off on his march to Ghaznîn1 and Kâbol. To the governor of the fort of Kâbol he sent a message to say, that he had nothing to do with the dominions of Mohammed Shah; but that as those confines were the source and mine of the Afghâns, and a number of the fugitives had arrived there, the object of his coming was the total extirpation of that race: that he should therefore give no way to apprehensions on his own account, but do his best endeavours to comply with the rights and demands of hospitality.
Nâdir Shâh himself pitched his camp in the neighbourhood of the city of Kâbol. The governor and people of the place prepared themselves for war and contest, and it was of no avail to send them messages or to advise them. A detachment, therefore, of the Kizil Bâsh was ordered to attack them and destroy their fort; but at the first onset, and at the very beginning of the work of destruction, a portion of the inhabitants raised a cry of distress, and the besieged, having obtained pardon and clemency, evacuated the fort and performed the duties of submission. Wherever the Afghâns in those parts assembled in a body, the army of the Kizil Bâsh marched upon them and cut them to pieces.
Nâdir Shâh, being extremely annoyed at the detention of Mohammed Khân, gave some verbal messages to some of the principal men of Kâbol, and sent them to Shâh Jehân Abâd to carry them to the emperor and his ministers. For himself he remained stationary at Kâbol. The envoys came to Lahôr and thence proceeded to Shâh Jehân Abâd; but no one listened to a word from them, or if he listened did not understand. Again from Kâbol he despatched one of his troopers on the same mission, giving him ten horsemen to accompany him. When they arrived at Jelâl Abâd, they alighted at a house. A mob of miscreants of that place attacked the house round about, and first robbed them of their arms. Afterwards they killed ten of them, and the only one that escaped fled to Kâbol and represented the history of the occurrence.
The length of the stay of Nâdir Shâh in Kâbol was about seven months, and during that time he exercised vengeance and slaughter on the Afghans in those parts. Unable to rest after receiving the news of the murder committed on the ten persons of his messengers, he moved towards Jelâl Abâd, and having commanded a general massacre of the inhabitants of that city, he caused to perish an immense population. A singular circumstance was, that for the chief of the assassins of those ten persons a robe of honour had been destined to be sent from the court of Mohammed Shah, but was prevented by the massacre at Jelâl Abâd.
From the day that the news was reported in India of the arrival of Nâdir Shâh at Kâbol, Khân Dôrân, the Amîro 'L Omarâ or chief minister, and Nizâmo 'L Molk were appointed to carry on the war against him, and held their head quarters at Shâh Jehân Abâd. At the same time they spread the report of their being shortly about to march in the direction of Kâbol; and this also in their opinion was a stroke of state policy.
One of the remarkable events in Persia, which came to the ears of Nâdir Shâh in Jelâl Abâd, was the death of his brother Ibrâhîm Khân, whom he had made Amîro 'L Omarâ of Azerbâïjân, whose residence was at Tabrîz. As the expedition to Candahâr and Kâbol drew to a great length, a body of the Lezgîs, having equipped themselves for war, led an army into the province of Shîrvân, which is in their neighbourhood; and Ibrâhîm Khân, having marched into the same province, gave battle to that nation, and was killed in the action. Nâdir Shâh, not giving much attention to this occurrence, dismissed one division of his army from further attendance on him and sent it into Shîrvân; and himself moved forward towards Peshâver.
Nâsir Khân, governor of the district of Kâbol, was at that time in Peshâver. With a detachment of troops which he had with him, and collecting also a body of the Afghans of that country, he took a position on the line of road, and in his own belief strongly fortified some high rugged banks and narrow vallies, and closed them to the passage of the enemy. Nâdir Shâh sent him a message, that on a certain day he (Nâdir Shâh) should come up, and that he (Nâsir Khân) had better move away from the road. This advice had no effect; and on the day appointed Nâdir Shâh arrived. An immense crowd of the Afghâns and of Nâsir Khân's troops were cut to pieces in the valley, and the Khân himself was taken alive. After a few days he was treated with great honour and respect, and Nâdir Shâh having marched down into the city of Peshâver, effected the passage of the river of Atak in boats.
IN the province of Panjâb, especially in the city of Lâhôr, a terror like that of the resurrection arose. Seized with a violent illness I was confined to my bed in that town; and as I well knew the people of India, and, disgusted with their demeanour, was in utter hopelessness of any intellect or discretion in them, I burnt with grief at the condition of the weak and depressed subjects. During that whole space of time I had not found an opportunity of setting out in the direction of Khorâsân; and as I knew with certainty, that the situation of affairs must induce the coming of Nâdir Shâh into Hindôstân, and he had already entered the district of Kâbol, my journey, should its performance be facilitated, would necessarily be directed by the same route as his. And as the disposition and peculiar views of the people of this country would, as by fate, determine them to believe that, without the least doubt, my going was the instigator of his coming; an opinion odious to my heart, and of itself a sufficient obstacle to my journey; whereas also, without regarding the hindrances produced by disturbance, the passage on that side was attended with extreme difficulty; for these reasons I had remained till then in Lâhôr. But now that so much tumult prevailed; that in the appearance and complexion of their affairs there was no hope for this people of any amendment, I found no patience in myself to behold the posture of their circumstances and property; and as by reason of the alteration in my own I was not in a condition on the other hand to associate with the army of the Kizil Bâsh, I was compelled in a state of languid convalescence and the most reduced weakness to remove from Lâhôr in the direction of Soltânpôr. That whole province was in complete revolution. Every person put forth his hand to plunder and pillage, and some thousands of highway robbers beset the public roads. I was detained some days in the villages of those parts; afterwards I came to Sarhind . The whole of that time, whether on the road or at the stations, passed in fighting and contention and resistance for self defence.
Nâdir Shâh now arrived in the skirts of the city of Lâhôr. Zakariah, the governor of that town, with fourteen or fifteen thousand regular horse and his own militia, having taken up a strong position on the bank of the river which passes close by the city, had formed his lines for battle. Both the peace and war of the Indians are of a strange cast. However, Nâdir Shâh with a division of his army drove his horse into the water and crossed over; and some of the cavalry of the Kizil Bâsh rode to the attack of the Lâhôr troops, of which those entitled with bravery and valour,1 who were the most skilful in the management of their horses, instantly took to flight, and the rest, being thrown into disorder, were annihilated and confounded. At last the Governor with his followers retired into the fort, and Nâdir Shâh pitched his camp adjoining the town. The Governor of Lâhôr sending a suppliant petition and apology begged for pardon; and having come into the presence of Nâdir Shâh, he was treated with respect, obtained a robe of honour, and remained fixed in his former office.
Nâdir Shâh, leaving a body of troops in the castle of Lâhôr, moved forward on the route to Shâh Jehân Abâd. Mohammed Shâh, accompanied by all his Omarâs and his whole army, had for some time sallied forth from the city, and was coming to the encounter in full pomp and splendour.
For my part, leaving Sarhind, which was in utter ruin and was invested by an army of robbers, I set out towards Dehli, with a troop of footmen and musketeers, whom I had brought together and kept with me. Having passed through the midst of the army of Mohammed Shâh, which in the course of near two months had performed only four stages on the road, and was crowded together in the closest throng, I entered the city. Some days afterwards I took up a corner in that tumultuous town.
TWICE or thrice from Lâhôr also, before he came up with the Indian army, Nâdir Shâh sent a message to Mohammed Shâh to expedite the return to him of his ambassador Mohammed Khân. But although they carried the ambassador along with them on their march, they would not grant him his congé; and at that time it did not appear, what their design could be in keeping him. At length Nâdir Shâh came up, the two armies met on the plain of Karnâl, which is four stages distant from Shâh Jehân Abâd, and war was joined between them. The Indians having gathered their artillery around were closely hemmed in by their own field-pieces, and as a division of the Kizil Bâsh had also formed a ring on every side of them, all intercourse with the exterior was closed to them and dearth and famine fell on that army, so that their condition turned out to be such as in the world of their pride they had never even imagined. Nâdir Shâh divided his army into two parts; one he left to guard his camp, and with the other division he assaulted the Indians. Borhâno 'L Molk was taken alive: Khân Dôrân, the Amîro 'L Omarâ, and Mozaffir Khân his brother, and a number of the distinguished Omarâs, with an immense quantity of troops were slain. In the midst of the action night intervened. Mohammed Shâh and those who had escaped the sword, who were still an innumerable multitude, finding the cavalry of the Kizil Bâsh spread around them on all sides, were afraid to stir, and although they saw themselves unable to maintain their position, they remained on the spot. Whoever fled, if he fell not into the hands of the Kizil Bâsh, the peasantry of those parts put an end to his life; or if they spared his blood, they let him not go before they had stripped him naked.
Arabic Poetry.1When the raven guides a nation in its courseThe burial-grounds of the Magi are its noon-day dormitories.
In short, the Nizâmo 'L Molk and Mohammed Shâh with some of his courtiers having repaired to the camp of Nâdir Shâh to resign themselves and offer their excuses, met with clemency and forgiveness; and Nâdir Shâh, having cheered and solaced Mohammed Shâh, gave him the glad intimation, that he should suffer no injury in his life, his empire, or his dignity.
Nâdir Shâh, then, with both the armies entered the city, and took up his quarters in the castle of Shâh Jehân Abâd. Mohammed Shâh was also with him in the castle, and the Indian chiefs and soldiers settled in their habitations according to their former and accustomed arrangements. This was on the ninth of Dzo 'l hijjah, one thousand one hundred and fifty-one (A.D. 1739.). On the afternoon of the eleventh of the same month, the Indians spread a report that Nâdir Shâh was dead; some saying, that he had died a natural death, others pretending, that he had been assassinated by the treachery and contrivance of Mohammed Shâh. In whatever way, within the course of an hour, his death became the talk of the whole city, whilst he was sound and safe, sitting with a large assembly in the castle, the gates of which were open night and day, employed in the despatch of important business. Some portions of his army were quartered round the fort and in the houses of the city, and some were encamped on the bank of the river which joins the city. Briefly, in consequence of this mere lying report, troops upon troops of rash fools, furnished with arms and accoutrements of war, raised tumult and confusion in every skirt and corner of the town, and turned their endeavours to the slaughter and plunder of the Kizil Bâsh. This scene spread itself over the whole city. The Kizil Bâsh soldiers, who understood not the language of the Indians, and had no acquaintance with the places, were scattered and walking about by ones and twos in every street and market; and the Indians coming suddenly upon them put them to slaughter. Though night came on, the mischievous promoters of the tumult gave themselves no rest, and the disorder continued to increase. After a true statement of the affair had been several times brought to Nâdir Shâh, he issued an order to his army, that every man should remain quiet in his place and station and not occupy himself with vengeance; and, that if the Indians made an attack upon them, they should keep themselves on the defensive. Not one of the Indian Omarâs that night, though fully aware of what was going forward, offered himself at all to allay the fire of this tumultuous revolt: on the contrary, some men whom at their own request they had obtained from Nâdir Shâh for their private security and protection, and had taken home with them, were slaughtered in their houses. And whereas in the battle of Karnâl only about twenty men of the Kizil Bâsh were slightly wounded with arrow shots, and not more than three were killed; in this scene of riot near seven thousand of them died by violence.
At day-break the tumult was still increasing in its vehemence. Soon afterwards, Nâdir Shâh rode down from the castle, and gave orders for a general massacre. To the division of horse and foot charged with this service he said, that as far as the very spot, in every direction, where a Kizil Bâsh had been killed, they were not to leave alive a single Indian. The Persian troops, having begun their work of destruction and pillage, entered the palaces and dwellings of the city, and making an immense slaughter, carried away the property as plunder, and the women and children as slaves. A great part also of the city was laid waste and burnt down. When half the day was past and the number of the slain exceeded all calculation, Nâdir Shâh sounded the note of mercy to those who survived the slaughter, and the troopers drew back their hands. After some days, the streets and houses being full of dead bodies, and the air contaminated, and the passage through the town being consequently difficult, an order for its purification was promulgated. The Kôtwâl, or civil governor of the city, having collected the bodies at every pass, with the rubbish and litter of the fallen buildings, burnt them all in heaps, without distinction of Infidel or Moslem.
Nâdir Shâh now took possession of the imperial treasures; and quantities of gold were obtained also from the people. Being for certain urgent motives in haste to return, he detached from the empire of Hindôstân and the dominions of Mohammed Shâh, and annexed to the kingdom of Irân the whole of the province of Sind and the district of Kâbol, with some places in the Panjâb which are in assignment to the latter district.
Having sent for Mohammed Shâh and the Indian Omarâs, he held an assembly, in which he gave the Jîcah, or diadem, to the former, and to the latter presented robes of honour; and having imparted to them some wholesome advice, he left them in possession of the sovereign authority.
To his infant son Nasr Ollah Mîrzâ, whom he had with him, he joined in the bonds of matrimony a daughter of one of the grand-children of the Emperor Awrang Zîb; and on the seventh of the month Safar one thousand one hundred and fifty-two (A. D. 1739.) having beaten the drum of retreat from Shâh Jehân Abâd, he set out on his return to his dominions.
ONE of the remarkable events which occurred in Persia, on the same day, was the violent death of Shâh Tahmâsb Safavi in the town of Sabzavâr. As Nâdir Shâh had come to India, leaving his eldest son Rizâ Colî Mîrzâ for his lieutenant in Irân; and as on the very day that the public of Shâh Jehân Abâd had falsely raised the report of Nâdir Shâh's death, and made it the foundation of the subsequent tumult, the news was spread to their most distant provinces and travelled also into Persia; and as the falsity of the intelligence was not yet discovered, Rizâ Colî Mîrzâ, who resided at the holy Meshed, fell to think of his personal interests; and looking on the life of that youthful king as repugnant to the arrangement of his affairs, though he had not once during the whole of that time set up any claim to sovereign power, and was attentively watched by his guards, he gave the signal for his death; and the officers having smote him to the ground, carried him to the holy Meshed and there interred him. His sons Abbâs Mîrzâ and Soleimân Mîrzâ, who were both tender infants, bade adieu also to this transitory world, and no children of him remained.
Arabic Poetry.1We count the Moshrif sword and the tall spears;Yet fate kills us without a fight or struggle.We are bound in the ties of the most ancient kindred;Yet they do not secure us from the nightly villain.
Abo 'ddorr Jemalo 'ddîn Yâcôt, the Penman, has said, and his expression is most beautiful and ingenious;
Arabic Lines.1My fraternal friends I regarded as coats of mail;And they were so, but for my enemies.I thought them well aimed, sure striking arrows;And they were so, but against my heart.They say, our hearts are purified and drained;And they speak the truth; they are drained of my affection.
One of the most singular incidents is this, that in circumstances where I had absolutely no thought or imagination collected or bent on these revolutions and events, suddenly it was whispered, as it were, to the ear of my soul, that the duration of the reign of the Safavean Soltâns is noted in the word Safavîyôn; and when I looked at it, I saw that it coincided; for although the exit of the prince, equal in state to Solomon, Shah Ismaïl from the court of sovereignty, Lâhijân, was in the year nine hundred and four, his session on the throne of royalty in the seat of government Tabrîz was in nine hundred and seven; then the deposition of Abbâs Mîrzâ from the name of Sovereign, and the usurpation of Nâdir Shâh, as has been described, took place in one thousand one hundred and forty-eight; consequently the duration of the dynasty of this exalted race must be two hundred and forty-two years complete, which agrees with the numbers in Safavîyôn.1
And now that a slight sketch of these events has accidentally fallen from my pen, which has no inclination any further to pursue the description of the residuary circumstances, it will abridge in a few words the conclusion of my own history. “God grant me a termination in paradise, and make my state in the last life better than in the first.”2
From the period of my arrival in Shâh Jehân Abâd until the date of this, which is the latter end of the year one thousand one hundred and fifty-four (A. D. 1742.) three years and odd are past, that my time has been spent in this town, and that I have been continually in the thought of moving and making my escape from this country, where I am fallen so utter a stranger: but from a multiplicity of insurmountable obstacles it has proved impossible. With the firm foot of patience and toleration I have measured three and fifty stations of the uneven road of life. My elemental frame, crushed by the assemblage of grief and diseases, and the powers of my soul, flagged and fallen away to indolence and neglect, have sunk the head within the breast-fold of lowliness. Now, weak and helpless, I sit listening for the note of departure.1 “If thou punishest me, I am one of thy servants; and if thou grantest me pardon, it is that thou art the indulgent, the merciful.”2
In my nature and disposition there was no principle of association with a strange country of men familiar with corruption and depravity; and as in coming I was not master of my own choice, nor yet am in going, I have done so much with the deepest blood of my heart;
Lines.3Arise, HAZIN, from this lower world, arise!From this mouldering dung-hill, arise, like Christ, arise!Thou art solitary in the midst of this strange assembly;Arise from among them, thus alone arise!
“We pray to God for pardon, and that he change our sorrow into joy, for he is beneficent, he is generous.” 1
AS two classes of men are repeatedly mentioned in the course of this work, of whom it is difficult to form a clear notion; and as I have no where met with a more sensible and perspicuous description of them, than in the admirably judicious and well written Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, By the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone, 1819.
I have made from it the following extracts.
Another sect in Caubul is that of the Soofees, who ought, perhaps, to be considered as a class of philosophers, rather than of religionists. As far as I can understand their mysterious doctrine, their leading tenet seems to be, that the whole of the animated and inanimate creation is an illusion; and that nothing exists except the Supreme Being, which presents itself under an infinity of shapes to the soul of man, itself a portion of the divine essence. The contemplation of this doctrine raises the Soofees to the utmost pitch of enthusiasm. They admire God in every thing; and, by frequent meditation on his attributes, and by tracing him through all his forms, they imagine that they attain to an ineffable love for the Deity, and even to an entire union with his substance. As a necessary consequence of this theory, they consider the peculiar tenets of every religion as superfluities, and discard all rites and religious worship, regarding it as a matter of little importance in what manner the thoughts are turned to God, provided they rest at last in contemplation on his goodness and greatness. This sect is persecuted in Persia, and though not discountenanced by the government in Caubul, is held in great aversion by the Moollahs, who accuse its followers of Atheism, and often endeavour to entrap them into some doctrines which are liable to punishment by the Mahomedan law; but these attempts are seldom successful; one obstacle to their accomplishment is, that many of the Soofees are sincere Mahomedans, notwithstanding the inconsistency of the two doctrines. I have heard a man expatiate with rapture on the beauty of the Soofee system, and on the enlarged and liberal views of human actions to which it leads; who has soon after, in the same company, stickled for every tenet of Islaum, and rejected with horror the idea of doubting the eternity of hell-fire: when the difficulty of reconciling this doctrine with the belief that nothing existed but God was pointed out; he said that the system of the Soofees was certainly true, but that the eternity of hell was proved by the word of God himself.
The sect, however, is gaining ground, particularly among the higher orders, and such of the Moollahs as apply themselves to general literature; and its obscure sublimity is admirably suited to the taste of that class. The love of mystery, indeed, which is so remarkable among them, induces them to form the highest notions of every thing that is concealed, and has even occasioned a lively curiosity about free-masonry. I have often been questioned regarding it, and have heard the opinions which have been formed of its nature. All that is known of it was communicated by a certain Dervise, who travelled into European countries, and who gave this account of his initiation in the mystery. He was directed to enter a particular building, and after passing through winding passages, and crossing several courts, he reached an apartment where eight persons were seated. They seemed all transported and disordered by their own reflections, and their countenances bore the marks of inspiration. The Dervise there learned unutterable things, and acquired more knowledge on the most sublime subjects from a moment's intercourse with those sages, than could have been gained by years of laborious study. Vol. i. p. 328.
The Moollahs are very numerous, and are found in every rank, from the chief courtiers and ministers to the lowest class in the poorest and wildest tribes. They are most numerous in proportion to the body of the people about towns. When mentioned as a body, they are usually called Ulema (or learned).
They are generally active, and comparatively able men, much attached to the interests of their own body, and careful to maintain its ascendancy. They are in possession of the greatest part of the learning of the country. The education of the youth, the practice of the law, and the administration of justice in all parts of the country, completely under the royal authority, are entirely intrusted to them: and these advantages, together with the respect which their superior knowledge commands among an ignorant and superstitious people, enable the Moollahs in some circumstances to exercise an almost unlimited power over individuals, and even over bodies of men; to check and controul the governors and other civil officers; and sometimes to intimidate and endanger the King himself. This power is employed to punish practices contrary to the Mahomedan law, when they occur among its orthodox professors; to repress Sheahs, and other infidels; and, at least as often, to revenge the wrongs or forward the interests of individuals of the religious order. The influence of the Moollahs is often more beneficially exerted in reconciling quarrels in parts of the country where there are no other means of preserving the public peace. Troops of these holy personages often come with their flowing robes into the midst of two Oolooses, drawn out for battle. They hold out the Koraun, repeat Arabic prayers, exhort the people to remember their God, and their common religion; and seldom, if ever, fail to disperse them for the time, if they do not bring about a permanent reconciliation.
The Moollahs are particularly powerful about Peshâver, and through all the Berdooraunee country. In the city of Peshâver, the King's authority keeps them in some restraint, and obliges them to seek redress for private injuries from the civil power, or to wait an opportunity of fastening on their enemy some charge of heresy or infidelity, which may expose him to the bigotry of the people, or to the legal persecution of the Cauzi; but, in the remote parts of that country, an injury or an insult to a Moollah would itself be sufficient to raise a tumult. On these occasions, the Moollahs send round to their brethren to assemble, suspend the public worship and the ceremonies of burial, pronounce their antagonists infidels, and formally excommunicate and curse them. If this fails in forcing their enemies to submit, they parade the country with the green standard of the prophet, beating drums, and proclaiming the Selaut (or war-cry of the Musulmans). They announce, that all who fall in their cause will be martyrs, and that all who fail to join them are excommunicated. By these means, they soon assemble a mob (or as they call it themselves an army); and, as the Afghauns are more afraid of their anathemas than their arms, they generally bring their adversaries to their terms, which include the right to plunder and burn the houses of the chief offenders and to impose a fine on their abettors.
Stories are told of the walls of towns falling down at the shout of an army of Moollahs; and swords are blunted, and balls turned aside when aimed at the life of these holy personages. Yet a stand was once made against them, even near Peshâver, when the Haukim of Hashtnagar resisted an army of them who came to enforce an usurious contract, and beat them off with loss, to the great joy of the neighbourhood. Though treated with great respect in this part of the country, I believe they are more feared than loved. In the west, their power is much more limited, and their character much more respectable. They are, in consequence, generally popular, particularly in the country: but, even there, they are complained of for the vices of their order, and for their intrusive and insatiable demands on the hospitality of the inhabitants. Even in the west, their power has sometimes been felt in the towns, particularly during the reign of Timour Shauh, whose prime minister was a Moollah. At that time, they carried their insolence to such a pitch at Candahâr, that a band of them attacked Kefauyel Khaun (a Sheah nobleman of Persian descent, who had held some of the highest offices in the state,) and rushed into his haram, insisting on a present, and protesting against the injustice of his-eating rich pilaws, while they had only dry bread. It was with difficulty, and by the King's interposition alone, that the tumult was appeased. Their peculiar vices are hypocrisy, bigotry, and avarice. Their lives are sanctimonious in public, but some of them practise all sorts of licentiousness that can be enjoyed without scandal; and many are notorious for the practice of usury. Lending money on interest is expressly prohibited by the Koraun; and few decent Musulmans openly infringe a prohibition which it is so easy to evade. Most men content themselves with lending their money to merchants, stipulating for a share of the profit derived from the use of it, or with placing it in the hands of bankers, who profess to employ it in commerce, and to secure the owner a certain gain; but many Moollahs lend avowedly on compound interest and with good security, by which they multiply their wealth to an incredible extent, and have got possession of a considerable share of the landed property of the kingdom. But, as all do not practise usury, it may excite some curiosity to know how so numerous a body can be maintained.
Besides those who have ecclesiastical offices or pensions from the crown, and the more numerous class of village Imaums, who receive a certain share of the produce of the crops and flocks in their districts, many have grants of land from the King and from heads of villages; and some have received legacies of land from individuals. Some subsist by teaching and practising the law; others keep schools, or are tutors to the sons of rich men; some preach, and are paid by their congregations; some live by the charitable allowances granted by the crown and by villages to students, or by the alms and hospitality of people through whose country they travel; and others follow trade or farming, or live on their own means, and pursue their studies and amusements at leisure.
The character of a Moollah is conferred by an assembly of members of that order on persons who have gone through the proper course of study, and passed the requisite examination. The admission of a candidate is attended with a prescribed form; the chief part of which is investing him with the turban of a Moollah, which is bound round his head by the principal person in the assembly.
The Moollahs are distinguished by a particular dress, consisting of a large loose gown of white or black cotton, and a very large white turban of a peculiar shape.
There are no corporate bodies of Moollahs as there are of monks in Europe, nor is the whole order under the command of any chief, or subject to any particular discipline, like the clergy in England. All, except those who hold offices under the crown, are entirely independent; and the co-operation among them is only produced by a sense of common interest. They all marry, and live in other respects like laymen. I do not know that they have any peculiar manners, except an affectation of strictness; some of them affect great gravity, and others take pleasure in frequenting all companies, and meddling in all affairs. One of these may often be seen, with a large turban, and a blue handkerchief, a couple of yards long, over his shoulder, parading the streets at the head of a dozen of his disciples, with a long staff in his hand, and a large law-book under his arm: or sitting in the houses of the rich, haranguing the company, enforcing his doctrines with his fore-finger, and shaking his wide sleeve, or amusing the master of the house with his jokes and stories, and handing round his enormous snuff-box among the rest of the party. Moollahs of this sort are reckoned very pleasant companions.
As all the Afghauns are sent in their infancy to a Moollah for education, and the rich keep Moollahs in their houses to teach their children, boys who are to be brought up as Moollahs, give a great deal of their time to the study of Arabic grammar, which, as it is very elaborate, and comprehends a great deal of science, that we do not mix with the rudiments of a language, sometimes occupies several years. When a young Moollah has made sufficient proficiency in this study, he goes to Peshâver, Hashtnagar, or some other place famous for its Moollahs, and begins on logic, law, and theology. No further knowledge is required to complete a Moollah's education, but many push their researches into ethics, metaphysics, and the system of physics known in the East, as well as history, poetry and medicine, which last is a fashionable study for men of all professions. For those studies, and for the more advanced branches of theology and law, they often travel to distant cities, and even to Bokhaura, which is a great seat of Mahomedan learning; but Peshâver seems, on the whole, to be the most learned city in these countries, and many more students come thither from Bokhaura, than repair to that city from Peshâver. India has not a great reputation for learning, and the heresy of the Persians makes all Soonnees avoid the infection of their colleges.
It is reckoned a good work in the sight of God to promote learning, and, consequently, besides the King's colleges, there is an establishment in every village for maintaining students. The consequence is, that the country is over-run with half-taught Moollahs, who rather impede than promote the progress of real learning.
The capital of Lâristân, once a magnificent city, stands at the foot of a range of hills in a large plain, covered with palm-trees. It has many handsome edifices; and its bâzâr is said to be the noblest structure of the kind in Persia. The residence of the Governor is in the midst of the city, and is surrounded by a strong wall, flanked with towers. The castle is situated on the summit of a hill, immediately behind the town.
The province is the poorest in Persia and so destitute of wholesome water, that were it not for the periodical rains, which fill the cisterns provided by the inhabitants, and enable them to cultivate a small quantity of wheat and barley, it would be quite uninhabitable. See Kinneir's Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire.
↩I have merely conjectured a meaning for the word
From the intransitive meaning of the verb
Two words in the last verse I have not been able to translate
literally.
This word is written in my Ms. with a
I find in Sir J. Malcolm's History of Persia that this event is dated 1736, and that the name of the place of assembly is given Chowal Mogâm; doubtless by good authority.
↩ According to their order in the numerical Alphabet
50 40 30 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 90 80 70 60
the sum and powers of the letters in the phrase
These verses, I apprehend, imply, that the music to be performed for Nâdir Shâh would be most suitably to the desire of his subjects a funeral dirge; and that he obtrudes himself on the world to its great distress as long he delays to occupy the place best adapted for him, and now prepared, his tomb.
↩This appears to be the modern Candahâr, close to the site of the old city, the name of which, after the death of its founder, it substituted for Nâdir Abâd.
↩Asadi, one of the most celebrated Persian poets of Khorâsân, was the master of Ferdowsi, to whom he gave the plan of the Shâh Nâmeh. The four thousand last verses of this poem, which begin with the conquest of Persia by the Arabs under the Calif Omar, are the composition of Asadi.
↩The name of this town is variously written Ghaznîn, Ghaznî, Ghaznah, and Ghaznô.
↩ The titles which every military man of superior rank in India
has given to him or assumes, are
Finding no satisfactory explanation of the plural term
Little dependence can be placed on the grammar or orthography
of the Persian manuscript, particularly in Arabic quotations:
and I have not the opportunity of ascertaining the
gender of the word
The word
The numerical powers of the letters in the word
Perhaps the Author had in view the verses of Hâfiz,
though not exactly in tone with his feelings;