ENCLOSED is a letter which we have received from Gopa, the Aumil of Koorumnâd, relating to the depredations of the robbers and highwaymen [who infest that district]. Peruse the same, and settle the business. Such of the authors of(1) [or principle actors in] these flagitious proceedings as have been already killed, are killed. But why should the remainder of them, on being made prisoners, be put to death? Their proper punishment is this. Let the dogs, both black and white, be regularly dispatched to Seringapatam.(2)
As we may be pretty certain, that it was not the object of the present order to extend any lenity to the offenders in question, it would not be easy to guess what sort of punishment was intended for them upon their arrival at Seringapatam. It is equally difficult to explain, what the Sultan meant by black and white dogs; since the solution of the matter which occurs to me (namely, that of the European settlers on the coast of Malabar being alluded to by the latter term) would not seem to be admissible in the present instance. Is it possible that, by the white dogs, he could intend the native Christians of Malabar? This supposition is, it must be owned, opposed by a strong fact; which is, that the Christians in question are as black as any other people in India: so that, if they were in the contemplation of the Sultan, he must have employed the words “white dogs” in the way of metonymy, or as another designation for Nazarenes or Christians.
THE account of the cardamum reaping is fully understood. When we [some time since] gave [i. e. made over to] you a [numerous] body of the sect of Shaikhs, and others, our intention, in that measure, was purely this: that lands should be assigned to the people in question for cultivation, and that the business of the cardamum reaping should be entrusted to them [exclusively.]
It would seem, by the account you give of the excesses committed by the robbers in your district, that the latter were become very desirous of being incorporated with the Usud Ilhye band. It shall be as they wish.
It appears by another letter in the collection, which I have not thought it necessary to insert, that the class of people usually employed in reaping or gather ing the cardamums, had been recently detected in embezzlements of the produce to a considerable amount. This circumstance had probably led the Sultan to transplant a colony of Shaikhs, and other Mussulmans, into the district in question, with a view to their superseding the ancient laborers in this particular branch of agriculture, which constituted one of the principal monopolies of the government. What effect was produced by this expedient I do not know: but there is no reason to believe, that the Mahommedan reaper proved at all more faithful to his trust than the Hindoo, whom he displaced. On the contrary, it has been affirmed by a very respectable authority, that “although all the Asofs and “Amuldârs under the Sultan’s government were Moormen, who were seldom “chosen for any other reason than their being Mahommedans, and although the “whole of them had an oath of fidelity administered to them, the embezzlement “of public revenue, by the several classes of servants, is supposed to have “amounted annually to fifteen or twenty lacks of Cantarai pagodas.”(1) Colonel Beatson has also informed us, that “notwithstanding the severity and minuteness “of the Sultan’s regulations, no prince was ever so grossly imposed upon.”(2)
INFORMING them, that the management [or chastisement] of the Polygars, and other turbulent and contumacious tribes, belonged to the province of the Bukhshy of Ehshâm, and not to theirs; that the above mentioned Bukhshy was accordingly engaged in that business; and that the charge of the defence of the forts and of the district [in general], likewise appertained [exclusively] to the same officer.
WE have lately dispatched to you, in the joint charge of Yunkut Rumna, an Hurkâreh of the brotherhood(1) of Pota, and of Kumâl Mahommed, of the brotherhood of Shaikh Mudâr, a casket, having our special seal affixed to it, in which is enclosed a diamond ring. You must open this casket, and taking from thence the ring which it contains, deposit the same in the box of jewels intended for the Râjah of the French, which you took with you from hence, and which has also our special seal affixed to it. You are, at the same time, to take out from the said box the ruby ring which you will find in it, and placing it in the casket now sent to you, to which your seals must be affixed, return the said ruby ring to us by the two aforesaid persons.
Having deposited the diamond ring, now sent, in the box with which you were originally charged, you are to affix your seals to it, and take great care of the same.
As there was from the beginning a diamond ring in the box [which you took with you], there will now, including that which has been just sent to you, be two, which is the number of diamond rings specified in your Hûkm-nâmeh [or instructions], as you will perceive on a reference to the latter.
WHAT you write, respecting the promise of Wunkeish Doob, the banker, to fulfil his engagements in the course of fifteen days, is understood. The aforesaid has, for six years past, constantly given the same assurance at the end of every fifteen days. He is a great liar, and you must not mind his promises; but, at the expiration of the time appointed for his settling, compel him to do so, by proceeding very rigorously against him.
It has come to our knowledge, through the channel of the Canarese newspapers, that Mohyûddeen Ali Khân, notwithstanding his great age,(1) and his experience, during his recent visit to us, of our disposition in this respect,(2) has forgotten himself so far as to resume his former passion for the exhibition of dancing, which he knows to be highly repugnant to our pleasure. This is a sign [or proof] of superfluous wealth. But wherefore have you remained silent on this occasion; and why have you not forbidden his pursuit of this amusement?
WE some time since wrote to you with our own hand, and we now again write, to desire that, after properly arranging the business of your army, you will leave the same in charge of your son, and repair to our Presence, through the interior of the country, and by a close or woody route, in company with Khizr Khân,(1) whom we have sent with two hundred horse to join you. You must proceed with expedition, but [at the same time] with care and vigilance. Our special retinue is about to remove from hence to the pass of Kurk-nâth.
YOUR representation, with regard to our not honoring your letters with [regular or early] answers, is understood. That great person(1*) [meaning Turbiyut Ali Khân] eats two or three times a day, sits at his ease, and amuses himself with conversation. We, on the other hand, are occupied, from morning to night, with business. Whenever we have leisure, we attend to the answering of your dispatches.
DIRECTING them to speak to the Râjah of the French, and [through his means] to procure [and bring with them from France] a skilful physician; a pharmacopolist, thoroughly acquainted with, and capable of preparing, every kind of medicine known in Europe; and lastly, an able surgeon.
DIRECTING them to send an intelligent agent to the Payen-Ghaut, with instructions to invite into the Sultan’s dominions [such] well-born, and other unprovided persons [as might be found disposed to remove thither]. Enclosing, moreover, a passport for the agent proceeding [on this service] to the Payen-Ghaut, and desiring a particular account of every individual agreeing to repair to Mysore to be transmitted to the Presence.
YOU must allow no more than a single shop to be opened in your camp for the vending of spirituous liquors; and over that you must place a guard, for the purpose of preventing the sale of spirits to any but the Europeans belonging to you; it being a rule in our victorious army, that no shop of this kind shall be permitted to be established in it.
To MONSIEUR COSSIGNY; the GOVERNOR of MADRAS; GHÛLÂM ALI KHÂN; the IMÂM of MUSCAT; and others: dated 18th TÛLOOEY. (15th December.)
THE [main] body of the accursed ones,(1) joined by the forces of Nizâm Ali Khân, and amounting together to nearly a hundred thousand horse and foot, accompanied by [a train of] artillery, having lately approached, with hostile intentions, within ten or twelve coss of our victorious army, which lay encamped near Shânoor: we no sooner received intelligence of this movement, than taking all our guns and baggage with us, we advanced rapidly against the enemy, whom we completely surprized.(2) The engagement which took place upon this occasion was fought on the 11th of Sufur, A.H. 1201 [or 2d December 1786]. The action, however, had not yet arrived at [the clashing of] swords and bayonets, when the enemy, no longer able to support the fire from our guns, involuntarily(3) took the road of flight; upon which they were closely pursued for two or three coss by our victorious army, who slew and took prisoners great numbers of the fugitives, besides obtaining possession of the whole of their baggage. In addition to this, three thousand camels, laden with various articles, twenty thousand bullocks, five elephants with canopies, twenty standards and kettledrums, and seven or eight thousand horses, fell into our hands.
Our victorious army is still in close pursuit of the enemy, and, with the blessing of God, the Aider, having driven them as far as Poonah and Hyderabad, which are the places of their residence, we shall communicate the same to you. That eminent person being among the number of our friends, we have thought it proper to give him the present detailed account of this battle.
It may be presumed, that if the Sultan had taken any guns upon this occasion, he would not have omitted so material a circumstance in the present Futah-nâmeh, or “letter of victory,” which, for this reason, may be suspected to have somewhat exaggerated his general success; though, on the whole, it is certainly less inflated and pompous, in point of diction, than is usually the case in similar productions. It would, at any rate, appear, that the advantages which he obtained over the enemy in this last action were of a more decisive character than those which had resulted from the battle which preceded it. It is probable, that the Sultan, in his Memoirs, entered into a fuller relation of the engagement of the 11th of Sufur, than that contained in the foregoing letter; but, unfortunately, that part of his narrative was included in the portion of the manuscript destroyed by the accident already alluded to. This, however, as well as many other defects of the present work, considered in an historical light, will, no doubt, be amply supplied hereafter, by the able and elegant historian of Mysore.
In addition to the foregoing account of the battle of the 11th Sufur, the Sultan’s letter to the Imâm of Muscat contains the following paragraph:
“Enclosed is a letter to Ghûlâm Ali Khân, and the other Sirdârs, [proceeding “to Constantinople], which you will forward to them.
“Agreeably to your own proposal, you must send a Vakeel [or minister] to “our Presence at the beginning of the ensuing season. You must likewise not “fail to establish factories at our different sea-ports; and as we have come to the “resolution, that not a single grain of rice shall be sold [in our country] to any “Nazarenes coming from Muscat, or to any others but the [bonâ fide] merchants “of Muscat, you, therefore, must give orders to the merchants of that place “bound to our ports, to bring with them certificates from our Vakeel there, in “order that they may be enabled to purchase and carry away [without obstacle] “whatever commodities they may require.
“Procure and dispatch to us some saffron seed, and also some mules, with the “breed of which you are acquainted [i. e. which you can recommend as being of “a good breed].
N.B. Wrote to the same effect as the above to Meer Kâzim, the commercial agent at Muscat, who was also desired to buy and send more pearls to the Sultan.
WE have learned by letters which we have received from the Imâm and from the Khulfân [or minister] of Muscat, that one of the vessels which proceeded with you from hence has been burnt. It is very astonishing that you should not have mentioned any thing of this matter. Communicate to us all the particulars of it. We conclude that you have proceeded onwards from Bussorah. Let us know. Let us likewise know, what things you stand in need of, that they may be sent to you.
To CHISHTY YÂR KHÂN, DEWÂN, and ZYNÛL AABIDEEN, BUKHSHY of the EHSHÂM of CHITTLEDOORG; dated 19th TÛLOOEY. (16th December.)
YOUR letter, congratulating us on our [late] victory over the enemies of the faith, and accompanied by a Nuzr of twenty rupees, has passed under our view. It behoves all Mussulmans humbly to address themselves to the Almighty Presence, and to implore, that the forces of the accursed may be always confounded and disgraced, and the army of Islâm be always victorious and triumphant.
YOUR relation of your late encounters with the enemy’s horse(1) is become duly known; and we are much pleased with the account you have given of their chastisement, and of your having taken six prisoners and twelve horses from them. This behaviour was worthy of your noble descent and of your fidelity to us.
Let the prisoners be strangled,(2) and let the twelve horses, after being valued according to custom, and paid for to the captors,(3) be taken into the service of the Sircar.
N.B. By some letters which follow here, but which are not deemed sufficiently interesting to be inserted, it appears, that the Sultan was, at this period, much occupied in dedicating shrines, &c. to the principal Mahommedan saints. Whether as an expression of his gratitude for the benefits which he might suppose himself to have recently derived (in the instance of his military successes) from their intercession in his behalf, or in order to render them propitious to his ulterior views and wishes, is not stated. It is probable, however, that he was actuated on the occasion by both considerations.
YOU represent, “that the people of the jewel office and of the “goldsmith’s workshop have applied to you to be supplied with the gold “and silver necessary for making up the Puduks, and other articles of “jewellery, which have been ordered, but that no receipts coming in at “this time, either on account of the collections, or from the Surrâfs [or “money-changers] superintending the Dûkâns [or retail warehouses] “of the Sircar,(1) you do not possess the means of answering the demand: besides which, twelve hundred pagodas weight of gold has “been already furnished for this service by the mint, which has not yet “been replaced.”
It is known. In the Tosheh-khâneh [or treasury], and in the apartment where the elephants’ teeth(2) are kept, there is gold and silver, to the amount of several lacks(3) weight of pagodas, appropriated [some time since] to the coinage of gold mohrs, pagodas, &c. Is not, then, that gold and silver still in the same place; or do you imagine it to be something else? This is, truly, a subject for wonder! You must take from this apartment whatever gold and silver may be required for the purpose in question; and after seeing that it is carefully assayed, deliver the same to the workmen.
Notwithstanding the wonder here expressed by the Sultan, at his treasurer’s not having taken upon him to break in upon a hoard of bullion, distinctly stated to have been appropriated to a specific purpose, it may be fairly doubted, whether if that officer had presumed to do so, his conduct would have escaped animadversion. It is true, that if we were to judge by the occasional intimations of the kind here conveyed, and which occur in the course of the correspondence, we might infer, that the public functionaries under Tippoo Sultan were invested with considerable discretionary powers: but, on the other hand, how many are the instances, in which the slightest exercise of such a power has brought upon them the severest reproofs of the Sultan, who was for ever directing them “to mind “their instructions, and to abstain from pursuing their own conceits.” The trust reposed in Shumsûddeen Khân was of a peculiarly delicate nature; and if he had ventured to act in the manner which his master affects to insinuate he should have done, and had so acted with impunity, it must be admitted, that such a fact would have materially altered our view of the Sultan’s character, in one important particular, at least; since it would have shown him to have been of a far more confiding and unsuspicious disposition than the general tenor of his actions imply. The safest guide, however, to our judgment, on the present occasion, is the evident backwardness of the treasurer to exceed the letter of his orders. No doubt, he had very sufficient reasons for this cautious conduct.
The Sultan appears to have distributed, about this time, various marks of his favour among his principal commanders. These tokens of approbation consisted chiefly of gold chains, rings, and what are called in the original Puduks or Pudugs. To some he gave seal-rings, with the names of the persons thus distinguished engraved upon them. Among these was a cornelian, with the inscription “Budrûz Zumân Khân Behâdûr;” being the first instance, if I am not mistaken, in which the title of Behâdûr is applied by Tippoo to any of his servants. He presented, at the same time, to certain Kuchurries, or divisions of the army, official seals, some made of gold and others of silver, and having inscriptions engraved on them, alluding to their services in the cause of Islâm. The Kushoons composing these Kuchurries (namely, the second and third Kuchurries of regular infantry, and the second and third Kuchurries of Bârgeer cavalry) had probably particularly distinguished themselves in the late actions with the Mahrattahs.
WHAT you wrote, respecting the departure of M. Monneron, on the 12th October, from the port of Pondicherry for the Mauritius, is understood. A month has elapsed since the persons appointed by us to proceed to France were dispatched from hence. Accordingly, having reached Bangalore, they afterwards pursued their journey from thence, and will [in due time] arrive [at Pondicherry].
You write recommending, “that we should direct the aforesaid persons “[i. e. the Vakeels] to remain at Selim or Eeloor till the arrival of the “above-mentioned Monsieur.” It is understood. With the blessing of God, the said Monsieur will soon return in safety from the Mauritius. We have, in the mean while, agreeably to your humble suggestion,(1) sent orders to the aforesaid persons to remain [for the present] at Anûntgeery. They will proceed [to Pondicherry] whenever you shall desire them to do so.
You write, “that a strict friendship subsists between the Hollanders “and the Râjah of the French; and that is is expedient that we, also, “should establish a good understanding and correspondence with that “people.” It is comprehended. Whosoever is united with the French, is, in fact, united with us.
The barometer(2) which your humble attachment(3) prompted you to send us has been received. No doubt, you will, also, after getting it prepared [or made up], dispatch to us the .......... of ..........(4) which you have promised us.
You engage [a great share of] our attention: be [therefore] in all respects easy in your mind.
N.B. A letter, of the same date as the above, directs Mahommed Durwaish, and the other Vakeels, to halt at Anûntgeery, till desired by M. Cossigny to proceed to Pondicherry.
The following passage, though inadvertently inserted in the letter to the Vakeels, appears to belong properly to that addressed to M. Cossigny.
The barometer which [you] sent us in charge of [your] Hurkâreh is in all respects very complete, excepting in the article of the quicksilver, which, owing to its oldness, does not move up and down. It is, therefore, returned [to you]: and you must send another good one in its stead, that has been made in the present year.
ABANDON your vain idea of proceeding [on a pilgrimage] to the Holy Temple, and apply yourself, according to custom, to the affairs of the Sircar. This is the most advisable thing you can do.
This officer appears, from other parts of the correspondence, to have formed some improper female connection, which the Sultan had insisted upon his renouncing. The lover resented this interference, by announcing his resolution to proceed on a pilgrimage to Mecca. This sort of declaration is often made under the influence of temporary chagrin or disappointment, and sometimes without any serious intention of fulfilling it, and with no other view than that of intimidation. Whatever the case might be with regard to Urshud Baig Khân, he ultimately relinquished his purpose (whether real or pretended), although the object of his irregular attachment had, by order of his sovereign, been publicly banished from the town of Calicut. The following letter will show in what manner the Sultan was accustomed to proceed on occasions of this kind.
DISSUADE Urshud Baig Khân from his vain purpose of repairing to the House of God [Mecca]. Try, at first, as far as you may be able, the effect of fair persuasion; and if this should not succeed, you must, of necessity, confine him. You must, likewise, imprison the courtezan, who has been the cause of this affair.
N.B. Upon Urshud Baig’s “coming again to his senses,” as it is expressed in the original, he was restored to his office; and the woman in question was released, and “driven” from Calicut.
THERE is a book which comes from Europe, and which treats of the barometer,(1) wherein it is written, that at certain [stated] times the quicksilver rises a certain number of degrees; and that if, at such times, a person afflicted with any one of certain [stated] disorders shall, during a paroxysm of his complaint, place his hand on the barometer, the degree to which the quicksilver may, in consequence, ascend, will indicate the state [or height] of such person’s disorder. Get this [book] translated into Persian, and send it to the Presence.
THE leather basket, containing [our several] treaties with the Mahrattahs, which you sent by the post, has reached us [safely] from Hurry-hur.
The Sultan appears to have sent for the treaties here mentioned, either in consequence of some overtures of peace made to him by the Mahrattahs, or preparatory to the discussions which he might expect to take place soon on that subject.
THE Mûtusuddy, Luchman Râo, was sent by me, merely for the purpose of ascertaining why the Nabob, Nizâm Ali Khân Behâdûr, notwithstanding the contract of mutual union which took place between us, through the medium(2) of Mahommed Iftikhâr Khân,(3) had suddenly confederated with the people of Poonah, and without any cause [or provocation on my part], advanced into my dominions. He was not dispatched with any other view.
I have, at this time, indirectly learned,(4) that that friend has placed a guard over the above-mentioned Mûtusuddy. This circumstance is very surprising: and though I find it difficult to believe the account, seeing that such conduct is not usual with great persons, yet if it should really be the case, [I desire you will] dismiss the said Mûtusuddy.
THE account, stating you had strictly prohibited the distilling and vending of spirituous liquors, and had, moreover [in pursuance of the same object], made the whole body of vintners enter into written engagements [to desist from selling such liquors], is understood. You must make the distillers execute a similar engagement, and then oblige them to take up some other occupation.
A SHIRT, formerly belonging to the Holy Prophet (on whom be the peace and blessing of God!) and which was first discovered at Kurpah, from whence, in process of time, it came into our possession, has been dispatched to you. This precious relic must be delivered in charge to the priests, to whose care the [other] holy traces [or remains] of the prophet have been already consigned, with instructions to place and keep it along with those.
THE duties upon [such] goods [as you may import into our dominions] are, without exception,(1) [hereby] remitted. Bring, therefore, with entire confidence to our ports, and into our kingdom, either by sea or land [as you may think proper], your silk stuffs and [other] merchandize, and there [freely] buy and sell. Wheresoever you may [choose to] bring your goods, there a place shall be assigned for your residence: and if you should, at any time, be in want of workmen or laborers, the same shall be furnished you, on hire, by our Taalûkdârs.
I am not enabled to account for the sudden and extraordinary encouragement here held out to the Armenian merchants; nor do I know how far it succeeded in alluring that industrious race of men to Mysore. The immunities offered to them were, no doubt, apparently tempting, since they greatly exceeded whatever had been hitherto granted, either to their fellow countrymen, or to any other foreigners. Still, however, the promised advantages were but loosely and generally expressed: and certainly were not intended to admit the adventurers to a participation in those branches of the trade of Mysore (as sandal-wood, pepper, &c.) which were rigorously monopolized by the Sultan, as constituting the chief commercial resources of his kingdom. It does not appear, of what country Yâkoob was a subject or resident.
DIRECTING them to prepare two batteries(2) in [front of] their respective divisions, according to a plan transmitted to them, and to place two guns and a company of regular infantry in each.
N.B. A few words follow here, of which I am unable to make any sense. Something appears to have been omitted.
IN addition to the camels which were some time ago sent to you, for the conveyance hither of certain articles of our special camp equipage, we have now dispatched fifty others, for the purpose of bringing treasure. You must, accordingly, dispatch the tents on the former, and on the latter the treasure.
The treasure here mentioned was, most probably, designed for the Mahrattahs; and appears, by a subsequent letter, to have consisted of 3,88,971 pagodas of sorts, and 72,000 Pondicherry rupees, making together about thirteen lacks of rupees, which agrees pretty nearly with the sum stated (as will be presently seen) by the Sultan himself, as the amount of what he paid to the Mahrattahs at the conclusion of peace.
HAVING made up, according to the established system of our government, the account of pay due to the Jyshe, the Piâdehs, Coolies, &c. you must issue the same in the manner prescribed in your instructions: that is to say, the whole body are to be paid, man by man,(1) in your own presence. There is no necessity for your consigning the amount of their pay to the Kilaadâr [to be distributed by him]. If you do so, you shall be punished in the manner specified in your Hukm-nâmeh.
AUTHORIZING him to take [from the public money] two thousand rupees, as a gift from the Sultan, to enable him to celebrate the marriage of his nephew, and to send for his connexions and relations from the Carnatic.
HAVING read, we transmit for your perusal [two] letters, brought to us by a pair of camel couriers, from Râo Râsta and Holkar. We have likewise sent to you the two camel couriers [in question]. You must, after looking at these letters, proceed thither [i. e. to the Mahrattah camp] with the couriers above-mentioned.
A cornelian seal, with your name engraved upon it, has arrived from Putn: but as it was not set for a ring, we have ordered it to be properly mounted as such, and when ready it shall be dispatched to you.
It would appear by the foregoing letter, and is confirmed by the Sultan’s Memoirs, that Budrûz Zumân Khân was chosen to conduct the negociations now pending with the Mahrattahs. It may even be inferred, from the terms of this dispatch, that if he was not named in the letters of Râsta and Holkar, as the most eligible person that could be employed by the Sultan on this occasion, he was, very probably, mentioned as the individual who would be most agreeable to the Mahrattah chiefs. Similar suggestions often proceed in India from a hostile power: but when this is the case, it generally denotes either an actual, or an assumed superiority in the latter. If Tippoo tacitly yielded, in the present instance, to such a pretension, it is not unlikely that he was led to do so, as much by his impatience to prepare for a fresh contest with the English as by any other consideration. Except with some motive of this nature, he would hardly have consented to a measure so liable to be construed into an act of submission, as the deputation of a person of Budrûz Zumân’s rank to the Mahrattah camp would be.(1)
YOU must not, in future, form the design of chastising either the Nâirs or Moplahs. This business appertains to the Foujdâr of that quarter. Yours is to apply yourself earnestly to the collection of the revenue, and other fiscal matters.
YOU must give the most strict orders to all the merchants, and other inhabitants of that place [Calicut], neither to buy any goods of the English factor who is come thither, nor sell grain, or any other articles whatsover, to him. How long [in this case] will the above named remain?(1) He will, in the end, despair of making either sales or purchases, and depart from thence.
It will be sufficient to remark on this letter, that the order contained in it amounts to a gross infraction of the eighth article of the treaty of Mangalore, concluded between the English and Tippoo in March 1784.
YOUR humble address, accompanied by a Nuzr, on account of our chastisement of, and [late] victory over, the enemy, has passed under our view. What you write, respecting your intention of repairing to our Presence, and the re-establishment of your health, is understood, and has afforded pleasure to our mind. With the blessing of God, our special retinue will soon shed lustre on that place [Seringapatam] when we shall have a meeting.
Kureem Saheb was the second son of Hyder Ali by a concubine, but was adopted by Medina Begum;(1) who, I believe, was a lawful wife of Hyder, as well as Fukhurûn Nisa Beeby, the mother of Tippoo Sultan. Kureem Saheb survived his brother, after whose death he came under the protection of the British government, together with the other branches of his father’s family, and was still living in 1808. He is represented to be of weak intellects; and would not, at any period, appear to have been entrusted with authority by his father, or to have been an object of jealousy to his brother. The foregoing letter is not the only one to his address which appears in the present collection. There is another of a prior date, acknowledging, as this does, the receipt of a Nuzr on occasion of a former victory.
YOU did right in apprizing Monsieur Cossigny, the Governor [of Pondicherry], of your arrival at Anuntgeery; and must, hereafter, act as the aforesaid Governor shall recommend to you. [When you resume your journey] you must proceed to Pondicherry, without stopping by the way.(2) How are the English people(3) to open and search any thing belonging to you?(4)
It would appear by this letter, that the Vakeels had, in their dispatches to the Sultan, expressed some apprehensions of being stopped and searched by the English, in their passage through the territories of the Nabob of Arcot. The Sultan affects to treat their fears as chimerical; but, nevertheless, seems to have thought it advisable that they should elude the observation of the English as much as possible, and with this view, directs them to travel by night to Pondicherry. He had previously, as the context leads me to suspect, caused their dispatches to be concealed in some part of their apparel, or bedding.
By a subsequent letter it appears, that M. Cossigny recommended, that the Vakeels should remain at Anuntgeery till the arrival of M. Monneron from the Mauritius. On this occasion the Sultan observes, that M. Cossigny “has counselled well, and is a good man, to whose opinion it will be proper in them “always to conform.” He concludes the dispatch, here alluded to, with exhorting them to approve their zeal and fidelity in the execution of the commission entrusted to them, and with promises of high reward and favor on their return from their embassy.
THE enemy, after flying, in consequence of the successive chastisements they have received [from us], as far as the banks of the Kishna, found themselves in the end reduced to such a helpless state, as compelled them to sue to us for an accommodation in the most humble and earnest manner.(2) The result is, that a treaty of peace, entirely conformable to the wishes of the Usud Ilhye Sircar, has been concluded between us. In consequence [of this treaty], we shall have to relinquish the possession of Adoni: but we will bestow some other country upon you in its stead.
It is therefore written, that you must, with the utmost expedition, collect all the money you can from the country. You must, moreover, completely encompass two or three towns, and getting together five or seven thousand people, report the particulars to us; as men are wanted [at this time] for the Usud Ilhye corps. A further reinforcement is about to be dispatched to you. Whatever hostile force may appear in that quarter,(3) you must chastise it effectually, and level it [with the earth].(4)
Although the treaty, recently concluded between the Sultan and the Mahrattahs, would seem to have provided for the restoration of Adoni and its dependencies to the Nizâm, yet it is, nevertheless, probable, that the latter might not yet have formally acceded to it, or even have had time to do so. Here, then, we see Tippoo, with his characteristic perfidy, eagerly endeavouring to avail himself of the short interval which might be expected to elapse before the completion of the general peace, in order to improverish and depopulate, as much as possible, the country he was about to relinquish. I am ignorant of the success of the Sultan’s barbarous policy upon the present occasion. It appears, however, but too probable, that the inhabitants of Adoni, and of the surrounding country, would have reason to deplore, for a long time, his temporary occupation of it.
A few other letters follow here to different persons, announcing, in terms nearly similar to the preceding part of the dispatch to Kûtbûddeen, the termination of the war. It is only, however, in a circular letter of the same date, to the Peer-zâdehs, Boodhun Shâh, Kuleem ûllah Shâh, Syed Ahmed Sâheb, and Nubby Shâh, of which an extract has already been given at Letter CCCLXXXI, that he announces his determination to turn his arms against the English, or “those who “forbid the practice of calling to prayers from the Minarets:” in which terms Christians in general are frequently described by other Musulmans, as well as by Tippoo.
HAVING brought the correspondence of the Sultan to the close of the war, with the early operations of which it commences, I cannot, perhaps, better conclude this work, than with the only remaining fragment of his Memoirs, which it is to my purpose to lay before the reader. Owing to the chasm which has been already accounted for, the present extract will not throw so much light on the progress of the war, subsequently to the action of the 2d of December, as could be wished; but what is still more to be regretted is, that after reciting the first article of the treaty by which the war was terminated, and preparing the reader for a continuation of this interesting document, the original abruptly passes to an exaggerated picture of the miserable condition to which the Mahrattah army was reduced, at the period of the pacification.
The operations which followed immediately after the rejection of the Sultan’s challenge by Tukojee Holkar are wanting, the remnant of the manuscript beginning as follows:
“On the following morning they rejoined the victorious army, bringing with “them the whole of their booty.(1) I now halted for four or five days on the “ground which had been occupied by the enemy, during which time I sent out “some Kuzzâk [or Looty] horse, to procure intelligence of the infidels. This party “returned with an account that they were posted on the other side of Kopul and “Behâdûr-bundeh, in the latter of which they had placed a [strong] garrison. “On receiving this information, I proceeded by long marches to Behâdûr-bundeh, “near to which I encamped; sending forward, at the same time, a division of the “army, so close to that side of the place [which communicated with the country] “as to prevent its receiving succours from the unbelievers. After this, I made the “circuit of Behâdûr-bundeh, and [narrowly] viewed the place, which I found “to be small, but of most difficult access, there being no [visible] path by which “a human creature could ascend to the top of it. I now caused two batteries to “be erected, one against each angle of the face next to us, and placed six battering guns in each. I then had ladders prepared for scaling the opposite side of “the fort.”
The Sultan here proceeds to detail the means(2) by which, in the course of the night, he made a lodgement at the foot of the fort, from whence he was enabled to fix his ladders. Previously, however, to attempting an escalade, he tried the effect of his batteries, but apparently with little success, the walls of the place having been hewn out of the rock, and rendered by himself, before its capture by the Mahrattahs, extremely strong. This case, the Sultan observes, furnished a verification of the proverb, which says, “there is no help for the evil of one’s “own creating.” In the mean while the Mahrattahs were encamped at the distance only of three coss, watching for a favorable opportunity of relieving the place. “Under these circumstances,” continues the Sultan, “not thinking a further “delay of two or three days advisable, I determined on an immediate assault; “with which view I prepared three hundred men, composed of regulars, of Jyshe, “and of Ehshâm, who being placed over night in the lodgement made at the foot “of the fort, were directed to rush forward at the hour of morning prayer, when “a rocket signal would be made for the purpose. In aid of this enterprize, “besides the fire from the batteries, I caused eight pieces of light artillery to be “placed in the plain before the fort, upon the walls of which they were ordered “to keep up such a close fire, as should prevent the garrison from manning them, “and thereby facilitate the progress of the storming party. Agreeably to this “arrangement, the latter commenced the assault exactly at dawn of day; but “were opposed with great firmness and courage by the infidels, who planting themselves at the part of the wall which had been breached, and by which the “assailants advanced, hurled upon them from thence large stones, besides pouring “amongst them, from all sides, a heavy discharge of musketry. On this occasion “a Teepdâr [colonel] who had mounted the wall, as well as several others, tasted “the sherbet of martyrdom. All this time the besieged, notwithstanding the “heavy fire which poured upon them like rain from our guns, continued to defend “themselves, wherever they could find any cover: at length, I myself taking the “direction of two guns, fired from them at every man who made the least “movement. At this time the governor of the place stood concealed [as he “thought] behind one of the bastions, from which situation he viewed what was “going on. Here a shot striking him on the head sent him to hell;(3) upon “which the whole of the garrison immediately demanded a capitulation.(4) They “were [in consequence] removed from the fort, which was taken possession of “by the Sircar. The following day I sent the garrison back to their own army.
“Two days after the capture of this fort, the whole army of the infidels, “preparing for battle, advanced against us. The cavalry picquets having announced the approach of the enemy, the vanguard of my army proceeded to “meet them; but it had only fired a few guns at them, when the accursed crew, “contenting themselves with what they had done, returned to their camp. Two “days after this I marched and took post two coss beyond Kopul, the enemy “being, at this time, encamped at the distance of four coss from thence. Here “I formed four parties of cavalry, each consisting of fifty horse and four rocket “men, to whom I gave orders to proceed and show themselves severally on the “right and left flanks, and in the rear and front of the enemy’s position; and “after throwing some rockets among them, to cry out, ‘behold the victorious army “is arrived! If you value your safety, fly speedily from hence.’ This order “was accordingly exactly executed: the consequence of which was, that the “whole force of the infidels, commanders as well as men, obeying the directions “of the horsemen of the victorious army, took instantly to flight, and proceeding “all night, did not stop till, cursed both by God and man,(5) they had got to the “distance of ten coss. They left behind them in their camp(6) various stores to “a great amount, and among the rest a quantity of shot and powder.
“It had been the constant practice of the enemy, during the last four months, “to pack up the baggage, and load their cattle with them, every day, an hour “and a half before sun-set. In this situation they would continue mounted on “their horses all night: and if, while they slumbered, any one gave an alarm of “the approach of the victorious army, they would immediately take to flight. “This they would frequently repeat ten or fifteen times in the course of a single “night. All this vigilance, however, did not prevent their plundering one “another, as often as a convenient occasion for the purpose occurred.
“At length Tukojee Holkar, who held a superior rank among the worthless “chiefs of this people, together with Râsta, who was, in fact, not inferior, in “point of birth, to Mâdho Râo himself, conceiving a just alarm at their [perilous] “situation, addressed Urzies(7) to our sublime Presence, which they sent us by “two horsemen.”
Tippoo then proceeds to give the substance of the letters in question, making the writers, as usual, humble themselves to the dust, and speak of their own sovereign (the Paishwa) in terms of disrespect, utterly incredible. They are made to conclude by imploring his compassion for themselves and his unworthy son,(8) and intreating him to send a confidential person to them, to receive their representations and proposals.
“Accordingly,” continues the Sultan, “in compliance with their desire, I sent “Budrûz Zumân Khân, Ali Rizâ, and other great men,(9) to negotiate with them. “On the arrival of the latter in the enemy’s camp, the Mahrattah leaders addressed them, saying, ‘our master stands in the place of a son to yours, and “we are servants. Pardon us for the evils which we have, by our own fault, “brought upon the country; and let your sovereign, by way of sweetmeat, “present our master, according to custom, with a little money, and one or two “villages: this being no more than such a favor as a son is entitled to claim of “his father.’(10) To this they added a declaration, that they were the victims “of Nizâm Ali Khân’s seduction. In fine, they made many humiliating protestations of this kind.”
In proof of the constant terror which the Mahrattahs were under, of being surprized by the Sultan’s army, Tippoo proceeds to relate, that during the negociations for peace, intelligence happening to be conveyed to them by some of their spies, that he was preparing to make a night attack upon them, Holkar and the Râstas instantly sent for Budrûz Zumân Khân and Ali Rizâ, and telling them of the intelligence which had been received, conjured them to dispatch two camel couriers immediately to their master, to intreat that the intended attack might be relinquished, declaring, at the same time, that they were ready to comply with whatever demands the latter might make on them. “It was in vain,” pursues the Sultan, “that the aforesaid persons [his Vakeels] assured the chiefs in question, “that there was no truth in the report which had been brought to them, and that “it was impossible for such a thing to take place while they continued in the “Mahrattah camp. The aforesaid chiefs, nevertheless, persisted in their instances, beseeching my people, for the love of God, to do as they required, and “by this means save them from the ruin which must otherwise fall upon them. “Thus importuned, the aforesaid persons at length agreed to comply with the “wishes of the Mahrattah commanders, saying, that they would return to their “tents, and immediately write the necessary letters on the occasion. Upon this “the others observed, that much time would be lost in writing letters, and intreated my people to dispatch at that moment, and in their presence, a verbal “message on the subject, as nothing else could set their minds at ease. My “confidential servants perceiving that the fears of the Mahrattah chiefs made “them distrust the promise which they had given to write, determined, in the “end, to satisfy them in their own way; and, for this purpose, sending for a pair “of camel couriers, they delivered to the latter, in the hearing of the chiefs, a “message to us, purporting that the enemy was in the utmost distress, and humbly “begged that we would not assault their camp that night. These couriers being “conducted by a party of the enemy’s horse beyond the Mahrattah camp, “pursued their way with great speed to our camp, where they arrived at three “o’clock in the morning, and delivered to us the message with which they had “been charged. I sent them back at day-light with a satisfactory answer, and the “same morning moved, as I had previously determined, about three coss from “Kunuckgheery, to a new position along the banks of the Tungbuddra, where there “was abundance of pasture.(11)
The Sultan, after giving the foregoing account of the alarm occasioned to the Mahrattahs by his intended movement, and of the reflections and regulations which it suggested to him, proceeds in the following manner:
“It was not my intention, in the beginning, to have gone to war with the “Mahrattahs; but when they, thinking proper to requite the favors they had “received from us, by a conduct entirely the contrary [to what I had a right to “expect], had advanced [into my country], I consequently judged it necessary “to repel their aggression, by just so much chastisement as should suffice to satisfy “them, and make them solicit peace. Having brought the business accordingly “to this point, I agreed to an accommodation, and to give them twelve lacks of “rupees. The treaty being concluded, I wrote [a letter] to Lewai Mâdhee Râo,(12) “which I sent to him, together with a Kulgy and Surpaish of precious stones, “and an elephant. I also sent an elephant, with a dress and jewels, to Tukojee “Holkar; and the same to Râo Râsta and to Hurry Pundit. These presents I “forwarded by the hands of confidential Vakeels.
“The treaty concluded on this occasion by the embassadors of the Sircar, with “Nizâm Ali Khân and Mâdhee Râo, consisted of three articles to the following “effect. The first stipulated, that on this side the Nurbudda, Nizâm Ali Khân, “Pundit Purdhân, Mâdhee Râo, and the Usud-Ilhye Sircar, should all three “remain united together, each ruling over his proper territories: and that if any “fourth person should make an [hostile] attempt upon the country of any one of “the allies, all three were, in such case, to join in repelling the same, whatever “disagreement might happen to subsist between them at the time; it being “provided, that the disagreement in question should be suspended [during the “continuance of the external danger or aggression].
“The second article was as follows: ........”
Here, as before said, the manuscript abruptly passes to a description of the miserable condition to which the Mahrattahs were reduced by the war. On this subject the Sultan asserts, that the Mahrattah chiefs themselves assured his Vakeels, that independently of those who had fallen in battle, they had lost near a hundred thousand men by sickness, since the commencement of the campaign.
Here my copy of the Sultan’s Memoirs at present ends: but it originally consisted of four or five leaves more, in the course of which the narrative was continued for a short period beyond the termination of the Mahrattah war. I apprehend that the Sultan never completed the work; though, if I recollect rightly, some memoranda for the purpose were found among his papers. If this should have been actually the case, no doubt those documents will, at some future season, be communicated to the public.
AFTER the preceding sheets had gone to press, I was favored by Sir Charles Warre Malet with some communications, relating principally to the peace announced in the foregoing dispatch. These, though received too late to be applied, in the proper places, to the elucidation of those parts of the Sultan’s correspondence which they would have served to explain or illustrate, appeared to me of too much value to be altogether suppressed. I considered that the diligent reader might still, if he pleased, convert them to the use just adverted to; and that they would, at least, form a record, of which the future historian of the period in question might avail himself. I have, for these reasons, thought it proper, with the permission of Sir Charles Malet, to insert them in this place.
The documents, here spoken of, consist of translations of five curious letters from Tippoo Sultan to Budrûz Zumân Khân, and of an extract from the private journal of the Resident, commencing the 20th December 1786, about which time the Sultan appears to have made some overtures of peace to his adversaries, which were rejected by the latter; but of which no trace is discernible, either in the correspondence or the memoirs. Indeed, it is clearly shown by the journal, that the mission of Budrûz Zumân Khân to the Mahrattah camp, mentioned in Letter CCCCXXX, must have been the second on which that officer was employed, although of his former fruitless embassy no notice is any where taken
Of the five letters to Budrûz Zumân Khân,(1) mentioned above, I have given only one (which, in the order of time, immediately follows Letter CCCCXXX); the others, though not less interesting, belonging to a much later period than that embraced by the present publication. There being no reason to doubt the authenticity of the letter in question (which, on the contrary, is strongly confirmed by its conformity, in point both of matter and manner, with other productions of the Sultan’s pen), I can no otherwise account for its not appearing in my collection, than by supposing that it may have been deemed by the writer of too delicate (or rather indelicate) a nature, to be entered in the usual registry of his correspondence. It must, at the same time, be allowed, that many things are preserved in that record, of which the Sultan had still greater cause to be ashamed.
“In these days some of our cavalry have taken prisoners Hunmunt Râo, a “person of palankeen rank, and three others belonging to the Mahrattahs. “Hunmunt Râo was sick; but has had due attendance, both in medicine and “provisions, and was then sent back. He says he has two brothers in Pursaram “Bhâo’s service. Tell Holkar and Râo Râsta, that princes and great chiefs act “thus; while they, on the contrary, have carried off from Surhutty the Kilaadâr “and Aumildâr, who being old are of no use to the Sircar, but being of a noble “origin, I would advise them to get some of their offspring.(2) Also a Kilaadâr, “named Ghûlâm Mohyûddeen, who is young; but, being wounded in the foot “is become useless. It is the custom with them [i. e. the Mahrattahs] to get the “breed of horses; therefore it is right that they have kept these people also for a “breed. Doubtless their offspring will be good. One Kishun Râo, likewise, has “been detained by the above. He likewise, being old, I do not want. Let the “Brahmens employ him in getting children: and as I have a great many other “useless people, I will, if they please, send them also, who may be employed in “the same way.” (Written by Mirzâ Husan.)(3)
Although, if rigidly understood, the preceding letter would warrant a belief, that the Sultan really intended that his embassador, employed in negociating a peace, should actually hold the offensive language here prescribed, to the persons with whom he had to treat, yet the supposition seems too extravagant to be admitted: I am, therefore, inclined to think, that if the letter before us proceeded from any thing else but a mere ebullition of spleen, it was probably meant to display that talent of coarse raillery, in the exercise of which he was particularly fond of indulging.
“20th December 1786. Mahrattah Camp.—On the 17th Budrûz Zumân “Khân arrived at Tukojee Holkar’s camp, in this army, as embassador from “Tippoo, with a retinue of five hundred horse and a company of Sepoys. The “18th Hurry Pundit gave him an audience. An express was immediately sent to “Poonah: and if a favorable answer arrives to Tippoo’s proposals, Bûrhânûddeen “will come to settle the conditions of peace.
“30th December. Mahrattah Camp, five miles east of Kopul.—The propositions made by Tippoo Sultan being rejected by the Mahrattah Government, the “28th instant his Vakeel had his audience of leave. The Vakeel, however, is “still here; but expected to depart, unless his master consent to the terms offered “by the Mahrattah government and Nizâm Ali Khân. Tippoo is encamped on “the Tungbhuddra, six or seven leagues off.
“14th January 1787. Mahrattah Camp.—Tippoo having attacked Behâdûr “Bundeh while his Vakeel was in the Mahrattah army, Hurry Pundit Furkia, “the commander of the Mahrattahs, was very much displeased; and on the 7th “instant, at midnight, dismissed the Vakeel, who was escorted within sight of the “enemy’s camp by a body of horse. On his arrival, the trenches were withdrawn “from Behâdûr Bundeh. On the 10th an express arrived from Tippoo: but it is “supposed the answer was unfavorable, as on the 12th Tippoo renewed his fire “on Behâdûr Bundeh, which was taken by assault the 13th, though our army “was within four or five leagues of it. A pestilential disorder prevails in this army.
“21st January. Mahrattah Camp.—The enemy having advanced with intention to attack our camp, we broke up about eight or nine o’clock at night, and “retreated to Kunuckgheery, thirty coss from Adoni and ten from Moodgul, where “we now are. There is no talk of peace at present. The sickness still prevails. “The enemy is about eleven coss from us.
“4th February. Poonah.—I am inclined to think, that what with the jealousies “that prevail among the Moghul and Mahrattah chiefs, the ravages of the pestilence, and the incompetency of Hurry Pundit’s authority over the great numbers of the vast army assembled under his command, no great exertion is to be “expected from it. At the same time I do not think Tippoo will be able to make “much progress to the northward, or move far from the banks of the Tungbhuddra; “by which he would give the allies an opportunity of interrupting his convoys, “and render them masters of all the advantages arising from their great superiority “in cavalry.
“Poonah. 10th February. Mahrattah Camp.—1st February. Notwithstanding “the late rejection of Tippoo’s proposals, he still promises himself to bring the Mahrattahs to an agreement; and having (as evidently appears) concerted matters with “Holkar, his ambassador, Budrûz Zumân Khân, arrived in camp again on the “23d ultimo, with Ali Rizâ, formerly of Arcot. On the 24th he was, through “Holkar’s mediation, admitted to an audience of Hurry Pundit, and has permission to remain till the further determination of government can be signified on “the present proposals; and, contrary to expectation, reports were prevalent “yesterday, of an approaching pacification. The sickness is abated.
“17th February. Mahrattah Camp.—The Mahrattahs having accepted Tippoo’s last offers, his ambassador has left camp, and is returned to his master to “settle the conditions. It is announced, that Tippoo is to pay three crores of “rupees for all arrears due, the country he has taken from the Mahrattahs for “these ten years past, and for the expences of the campaign. The pestilence, “with which we have been afflicted for three months past, has subsided, and is “reported to have now broken out in Tippoo’s army.
“5th March. Poonah.—On the second instant I was, by message from “Nâna, informed, that he had just received a letter from Hurry Pundit, “mentioning that since Tippoo’s Vakeel left the camp, he had received a letter “from him, advising that he should soon return, with the necessary documents “for the conclusion of peace, as they were all drawn up and prepared for his “master’s signature, which he expected would soon be affixed to them. That “the principal articles were the surrender of Nergûnd(4) and Kittoor, the payment “of the arrears of tribute, and the confirmation of Bâdâmy and Gujundur “Ghur to the Paishwa, and the restitution of Adoni to Nizâm Ali Khân. “That after being sent to Hurry Pundit, they would be forwarded for the final “consideration and ratification of the Durbâr [Paishwa’s]; but, for his own “part, as they were not yet signed by Tippoo, he could place no reliance on the “Vakeel’s communication to Hurry Pundit, and had thus mentioned the present “state of the negociation, only as a mark of his confidence and friendship.
“Poonah. 7th March. Mahrattah Camp. 26th February.—This day, between the hours of twelve and one, Tippoo’s Vakeel returned, with three elephants and several camels, loaded with money. It is reported, the army will “shortly march to the Kishna to await the second payment.
“14th March. Mahrattah Camp. (No date).—Five miles South of Moodgul. “The treasure that arrived with the ambassadors is thought to be no more than “fifteen lacks.
“24th ditto. Poonah. To Governor General.—Nâna has not yet thought “proper to inform me of the terms of the treaty; and all that I can collect, with “any degree of certainty, is the payment of the tribute for four years, at eighteen “lacks per annum, including Durbâr charges, and the surrender of Nergûnd, “which was reduced by Tippoo two years ago.” (N. B. This peace seems to have been mediated by Holkar and Râsta, and was reported not to be approved of by the Sindian party at the Durbâr.)
“10th April. Poonah. To the same.—On the 8th instant I received intelligence from Behro Pundit, that half of Tippoo’s stipulated payment had “arrived in camp, but that the ratified treaties were not yet exchanged.
“17th April. Poonah.—On this day Nâna assured me, that to the 13th “instant the definitive treaty with Tippoo was not exchanged, though Tippoo “had written on the 8th of February to Nizâm Ali and to the Governor of “Madras, that all was settled to his satisfaction.
“21st April. Poonah. To Governor General.—The army [Mahrattah] has “certainly commenced its march from the South towards this place.
“5th May. Poonah. To Governor General.—On the 30th ultimo the minister formally acquainted me, that after much prevarication on the part of Futtah Ali Khân(5) (Tippoo), peace was at length made with that prince, and the “ratified treaties exchanged, including, in one part, the Paishwa and Nizâm Ali “Khân, and on the other Futtah Ali Khân. The conditions of which were, that “Futtah Ali Khân was to pay four years’ arrears of tribute due to the Paishwa, “part of which had been already paid, the balance to be discharged in six “months; that Adoni was to be restored to Mohâbut Jung; Nergûnd and Kittoor “to be surrendered to the Paishwa, who is also to retain Bâdâmy. Here the “minister paused; and I was surprised, on enquiry, to find that this communication was to be understood as comprising the whole of the treaty; the more “so, as the Paishwa’s surrender of Gujundur Ghur, some circumstances concerning Shânoor, and the discussions relative to Futtah Ali Khân’s titles and address, “were matters of public notoriety, and which, I, of course, expected would be “noticed in this formal communication. He also declined any formal congratulation to the Paishwa, on my part, on the occasion, as too unimportant, not “scrupling to express his want of confidence in Tippoo for the observance of the “peace thus concluded. I subsequently, by message, on the 3d, applied for “further information, but without effect.”
“5th May. Poonah.—Received this day from Secretary Hay, copy of a letter “from Tippoo to Governor of Madras, dated 8th February, from which the “following is extract.
“The Poonah army being pursued by mine has crossed the Krishna, and peace “has taken place between us in the manner I wished. They have, accordingly, “returned to their own country, and I purpose returning to my capital in about “a week, after quieting the disturbances raised by some Polygars in these parts.”
“N. B. This letter contained applications relative to some refractory boundary “chiefs.
“3d June. Poonah. To Governor General.—In reply to my enquiries relative “to the late discussions on Tippoo’s titles, the minister has informed me, that “hitherto the Paishwa used to address him by the name of Futtah Ali Khân, “that he had now desired to be stiled Tippoo Sultan Khân Behâdûr. To the “first of which, as it had no relation to royalty, but was actually the name given “to him at his birth by his mother, in consequence of a vow to name her child, “if a male, after a famous Mahommedan Peer,(6) at Colar, in the Carnatic,(7) whose “name was Tippoo Sultan, no objection could be made. That Khân, as it had “formerly joined to Futtah Ali, was nothing new, and, in fact, did away any “royalty that might otherwise be imputed to the word Sultan; and that the “appellation of Behâdûr was the only word of additional dignity to be used in the “Paishwa’s future addresses to this prince, who is not even styled Nabob by this “Durbâr.”
“In the year Sehr, 1220 of the Mowloody [i.e. the birth] of Mahommed,(1) th?? Fringy the 5th of the month Rubbâny “English and the Dewân of the Nâbob, Nizâm Ali Khân, named Ghûlâm “Syed [and also called] by the title of Sohrâb Jung, and Hurry Pundit “Phurkia, all these three persons came together [or united] to make war; and “[after] taking Bangalore, Sawantydoorg, and other places, came to the royal “residence of Putn, when peace, upon the condition of [my] giving three crores “and thirty lacks of Imaumies [i. e. rupees] was settled, of which [sum] two “parts [i. e. two-thirds] were taken in money. And, at the time of [making] “peace, they did abundance of deceitful and bad things,(2) of which there would “be no end to the recital.(3) In fine, after the peace, [they] took two of my “sons, Aabdûl Khâlik and Moizûddeen, in pledge [i. e. as hostages] and, together with Ghûlâm Ali Khân and Ali Rizâ Nurwâil, took them away. And on “the 5th of the month Rubbâny, corresponding with the 3d of the month Rujub, “year Sehr, 1220(4) birth of Mahommed, peace was concluded [or settled]. “And the above-mentioned sons, on the 9th of Shuvwal, corresponding with the “10th of the month Behâry, year Sehr, being Monday, 1220 of the birth of “Mahommed, entered Chinaputn [i. e. Madras], and on the 23d of the month “Rujub, corresponding with the 24th of the month Kâzy, year Sâhir, being “Monday, year 1221 of the birth of Mahommed, coming forth from Chinaputn, “proceeded to the Presence, and after some days arrived in the Presence at “Yoosûfâbâd, on the 4th of the month Rubbâny, year Zuburjud, 1219 “of the birth of Mahommed, corresponding with the 2d of the month Rujub, “A. H. 1206, proceeded from the royal residence towards the Nusâra [i. e. the “Nazarenes]; and on the 9th of the month Tukky, year Sehr, 1220 of the “birth of Mahommed, answering to the 7th of the month Shuvwâl, A. H. “1206, entered [or arrived at] Chinaputn [i. e. Madras]: and on the 27th “of the month Râzy, year Sâhir, and 1221 of the birth of Mahommed, “corresponding with the 25th of the month Shaabân, A. H. 1208, being “altogether twenty-two months and eighteen days, they came forth from “Chinaputn; and on the 27th of the month Rubbâny, year Sâhir, and of the birth “of Mahommed 1221, arrived in the Presence, with Doveton, the English Fringy, “at Yoosûfâbâd, with Doveton, the English Fringy.”
The foregoing memorandum is followed by a minute (also in the Sultan’s hand-writing) wherein the Sultan, after stating his own opinion pretty fully, calls upon his counsellors to deliver their sentiments, with regard to the measures proper to be pursued at this period (viz. the return of the hostages); after which follows a note of dates, furnished by Ali Rizâ Khân, and apparently designed to set the Sultan right, with respect to some of those given in the engraved memorandum. The dates in question relate, 1st. to the arrival of the hostages at Madras; &c., 2d. to their departure from thence; specifying precisely the day and hour of each occurrence, and differing considerably, in both articles, from the Sultan’s statement.
TRANSLATION of No. 2 of the annexed Plate, being a MINUTE or NOTE, containing the joint opinion of GHÛLÂM ALI and SYED FUZL ALI, on the question respecting COLONEL DOVETON’S reception.
“The humble representation of your slaves is this. If one person of the “Nazarenes come along with the princes,(1) it is of no consequence. He may be “both honoured with an interview, and amused(2) with the words of friendship. “Whatever is in the heart, it may [nevertheless] remain there:(3) and whether “the interview takes place at Bangalore, or elsewhere, does not signify. [On “the other hand] in case his coming should be set aside, it will excite some “mistrust in their minds.(4)
“The humble representation of Ghûlâm Ali and Syed Fuzl Ali.”
The manuscript, from which the two foregoing articles have been taken, is composed of forty leaves of European paper, of the size of quarto post: and though several whole leaves and some pages are blank, it contains, besides the minutes here inserted, many other curious and interesting documents, chiefly questions proposed by the Sultan to his ministers, on political subjects, with their answers subjoined, in their respective hand-writings.
THE account of the Sultan’s march from Seringapatam to Bidnore, and of his first operations against General Matthews, is unfortunately wanting; that part of the manuscript, which contained those details, having been destroyed by the accident noticed in the Preface. Some previous skirmishing between the hostile armies had been described; but what remains of the narrative commences as follows:—
“A discharge of artillery and musquetry succeeded, which occasioned the loss “of a few of those who looked on.(1) Then the troops of the Usud-Ilhye,(2) and “the French people, advancing on each side of the road, gave another discharge “of musquetry. Immediately on hearing this discharge, I (being then seated “at the distance of a hundred yards) advanced rapidly with a division, when “about sixty of the English people were sent to hell. The rest being pursued left “behind them the two guns they had previously seized on: and thus the aforesaid “Nazarenes were driven back, discomfited and disheartened, to [the position “occupied by] their worthless leader, who thereupon, with all his forces, sought “[refuge in] the fort and batteries. Writings of the said worthless leader were “found in the pockets of four of the English Sirdars [or officers] who were among “the slain.(3) On this day about three hundred Nazarenes were made prisoners “and twenty guns taken. On the second, or following day, I myself, taking two “thousand light troops with me, attacked and gained possession of a large powder-magazine at some distance from the fort, and of a magazine of grain close to it. “Six hours after the capture of these two places, the enemy sent about four “thousand men to attack us. This force advancing by a concealed route [or “secretly], an action ensued between them and the Usud Ilhye army, in which “both parties, passing from the fire of musquetry, fought with the bayonet and “sword. On this occasion, also, about two hundred of these good-for-nothing “people were sent to hell. A few persons, too, of the army of the Ahmedy “Sircar tasted the sherbet of martyrdom; and one Risâladâr, after being “wounded, was carried off by the Nazarenes.
“The third day I had all the powder and grain removed from the said magazines, and lodged in a place of safety. On the same day, the Nazarenes set “fire to the palace of the Râjah, and to ten or twelve other noble buildings; “keeping up, also, such a fire [from their guns], that there was not a span’s “space of the wall [of the outer town] which was not reached by their shot.
“On the fourth day, carrying on my approaches in front of the Dârûl “Imâret,(4) and in front of the mosque, and by two other sides, I erected “batteries close to the fort, in which I placed some large guns, which I had caused “to be removed from the walls of the city.
“The Nazarenes had conveyed into the fort, from the different magazines [of “the city], about fifty thousand shot, and a vast quantity of powder. The “remainder, consisting of about two hundred thousand shot, one hundred “thousand utls of lead, and five hundred thousand utls(5) of powder, besides an “innumerable quantity of other stores, fell into our hands.
“Having next fixed on a high spot, I caused batteries to be constructed and “mounted with guns, at sight of which the Nazarenes, without religion, opened “a very heavy fire. When the said Nazarenes became tired [of firing], the “batteries of the Usud Ilhye opened their fire, discharging from four to five “thousand shot; and in this manner did the firing continue, on the part of the “Usud-Ilhye Sircar, for five or six days. As to the Nazarenes, they did not fire “a single shot from the fort on the second day. What fire they kept up was on “the first day: the reason of which was this. The fire from without was so hot, “that no creature within the fort durst approach their guns [for the purpose of “working them], while General Matthews (the name of their worthless leader) “causing a. . . . . . . .(6) to be made, crept or slunk into the same. There was “not, in short, a span’s space throughout the fort, which the shot of the Usud “Ilhye guns did not reach, or where the blood of the Nazarenes was not spilt.
“On the fifth day the Nazarenes, during a storm of rain, rushed from a “concealed place, and attacked our intrenchments: but the Ahmedy troops being “on their guard, the infidels were repulsed at the point of the sword and bayonet, “many of them being seized by the legs, and in that condition thrown by the “people of the Sircar into the trenches. The rest, leaving their wounded behind “them, fled in confusion into the fort.
“After this, I pushed on my approaches before the gate of the fort, and on “every other side, still nearer; and caused such a fire of musquetry to be kept “up, that not a single man of the Nazarenes, within the fort, durst ascend the “walls, or come near their guns. In this manner did the Nazarenes altogether “make three sallies, in considerable force; but were each time repulsed with great “loss, and compelled to slink back, like mice, into the fort. Thus did hostilities “continue during ten days. On the eleventh day the Nazarenes begged for “quarter, and sent me the draft of terms of capitulation, consisting of the seven “following articles:
“‘Article 1. Neither the troops of the Sircar of the Usud-Ilhye, nor the “inhabitants [Ryots] of the country of the Sircar, shall, after we evacuate the “fort, spit in our faces,(7) or abuse us, or wound us.
“‘Article 2. Let our private property be left to us; and let guns, musquets, “money, goods, military stores, &c. be taken by the Sircar.
“‘Article 3. Whatever money, goods, or cattle, belonging to the Sircar, may “be in our possession, we will deliver up the same: and if we should take with “us to the value of a Daum or Dirm(8) of money or goods; and if, upon search “by the people of the Sircar, any thing of the kind should be found upon us, “we consent to be considered criminal. Inflict [in that case] whatever punishment “you please upon us.
“‘Article 4. Let us have a safe-guard to the sea-side.
“‘Article 5. Let some ships of the Sircar be lent to us [for conveying us “home]: and let us be favored with grain, and other articles of provision, by the “Sircar, at a fixed price. After we arrive at our own place, the amount of the “price of the same shall be sent.
“‘Article 6. Ships to be furnished for the conveyance of whatever number of “men shall [chuse to] embark. But those who may not consent [or like] to “embark on board of ship, shall be dispatched by land to Bombay, under an “escort.
“‘Article 7. Two Sirdars [i. e. officers of rank] of the Sircar shall remain “with us, as hostages, until our embarkation; and two Nazarene Sirdars to “remain with the Sircar. Whenever the Sirdars of the Sircar shall return to “the Presence, the two Nazarene Sirdars shall be dispatched [or sent back to us.]’
“I agreed to these proposals, and, according to the request of the Nazarenes, “caused two treaties, one in Persian, and the other in English, to be drawn up: “to which were affixed my seal and signature, and, in like manner, the seal and “signature of the Nazarenes. One of the treaties was kept by the Sircar, and “the other was given to the Nazarenes. The following morning the Nazarenes “preparing [or assembling] all their people within the fort, loaded such parts of “the Tosheh-khâneh of the Sircar as consisted of specie, on mules, horses, and “bullocks, bearing the mark(9) of the Sircar, and distributed the rest of the “articles amongst their people; after which they came out of the fort. On “passing the gate, the worthless chief of the Nazarenes first, drawing his “sword, delivered up the same with his own hand: after which, all the rest, “amounting to about two thousand two hundred Nazarenes, and ten thousand “infantry, native troops, grounded their arms, and proceeded to the encampment assigned them without the city. The next day, sending for Matthews “(the name of their worthless leader) and their other worthless commanders, I “demanded of them, whether the treaty which they had executed the preceding “day wasright [or valid] or not right. To this they all answered, that on that “point there was not any doubt, and that the treaty was right [or valid]. Hereupon I sent to them about twenty principal men and Sirdars of the Sircar, “through whom I thus interrogated them.
“‘What is the reason that, contrary to the treaty, you have taken with you “the money and goods [of the Sircar], and also the prisoners made by you in “the Sircar’s country, dressing them up in your own apparel? What is the “reason that you have loaded cattle, bearing the mark of the Sircar, with “specie, and carried the same away? Finally, why, at the time of your evacuating “the fort, did you distribute among your people the Tosheh-khâneh of “the Sircar?’
“Their answer [to these demands] was, ‘that they had no knowledge of the “matter; and that if the Sircar had any suspicions, and did not put trust in “their declaration, a search might be ordered by the Sircar.’ To this I replied, “through the Sirdars, ‘that it would be best for them to issue positive orders to “their people to deliver up to the Sircar whatever coined money of the Sircar, “captives made in the territories of the Sircar, or cattle, goods, &c. they had “taken with them.’ In reply to this they declared, ‘that neither themselves, “nor any of their people, had a single daum or dirm [farthing], or retained a “single hair of any inhabitant of this country;’ proposing, at the same time, “that a guard of the Sircar should be placed over them, and that a search should “be made, and [every thing] taken [that might be found]. After much “altercation on their part, the Sirdars of the Usud-Ilhye took from them, and “brought [to me] a writing to the above effect. Hereupon I dismissed the “accursed, worthless, Sirdars: and on the second [or following] day, having “surrounded them with guards, I caused them to march from the encampment “they then occupied to the vicinity of another spot [which had been appropriated “by them] as a burying ground.(10) The Sirdars of the Sircar, placing themselves “in the road, examined them, one by one, as they passed. The accursed ones “were, in consequence, found to have concealed in every seam of their clothes, “Hydery Hoons [pagodas] and jewels. They had also made holes in sheep’s “heads, which they had filled with pagodas.(11) Some had concealed pagodas in “loaves of bread; others within Hûkkah snakes, and Hûkkah bottoms; while “several had even resorted to the most indelicate means of concealment:(12) all of “which were detected by sweepers, and other Sâmries, appointed for the purpose “by the Sircar.(13) Many young people, also, male and female, natives of the “country of the Sircar, were found disguised in the dress [of the Nazarenes]. “These captives, of their own accord, set up a loud cry, [by which means] about “five hundred were discovered. The search being over, I had the worthless “Sirdars placed separately, the Nazarene people separately, and the other infidels “separately; and as they had not acted conformably with their written engagements, I made the whole prisoners, and distributed them throughout the “country. During the investigation, ten or twelve Musulman women (Syeds and “Shaikhs) who had been made captives, or slaves, by the infidel Nazarenes, at “Surat and in Bengal, were found among their people. These persons being “likewise separated from the Nazarenes, and restored to their freedom, were “permitted to depart.
“After this, passing the Ghauts, I proceeded, by five or six days’ marches, to “fort Kûriâl-bunder [Mangalore], which is an excellent fortress, erected by(14) the “Ahmedy Sircar, and on which, in the course of five and twenty years, about “twenty lacks of rupees have been expended. An ungrateful rogue, who had “been honored with the government of it, had invited the Nazarenes, and “delivered it up to them. Here I arrived; and on the second [or following] “day, after crossing another Ghaut [or pass] situated two coss on this side of the “said fort, encamped near the city. The worthless Nazarene, who commanded “in the fort, had erected a battery of heavy guns on an eminence near the fort, in “which were placed about three hundred Nazarenes and a thousand other troops. “After I had taken up my position, I dispatched a Kushoon to occupy the town. “This division, passing the outer-wall, was attacked by a body of Nazarenes, “posted there by the enemy: between whom and my people a sharp conflict was “maintained till evening. Having, during the same day, collected the necessary “materials for the purpose, I erected a battery in the night, opposite to that of “the Nazarenes, in which I placed fifteen guns: and sending a storming party “of two Kushoons, I posted them in a hollow, where they remained till the hour “of morning prayer; when, after firing a volley [from our battery], and crying “out ‘Allah yâr,’(15) they rushed forward, and with great slaughter drove the “Nazarenes without religion, from the eminence they occupied; taking also “many prisoners, and pursuing the fugitives to the very gates of the fort, in front “of which my people maintained themselves, till such time as, with the divine “assistance, I was enabled to entrench them. In the course of the two next “days, every thing being prepared for the purpose, I invested the place, and “mounted two batteries. A very hot fire was kept up on both sides the first day. “On the second day the gunners of the Hydery army served the batteries in such “a manner, that ten guns of the fort were dismounted and shattered to pieces, and “a great number of Nazarenes sent to hell. In the end, the Nazarenes abandoned all their guns, and were no longer able to appear on the walls; while I “had two or three other batteries erected, in which placing six mortars, I caused “large stones to be thrown from them. Hereupon the Nazarenes without religion “dug trenches within the fort, into which they slunk [for shelter].
“In this conjuncture the rains of that country, which continue for six months, “set in. At the end of two months, I had carried my approaches, notwithstanding the violence of the rains, to the ditch of the fort; in the course of which “time the besieged had made two sallies, at the hour of midnight. On one of “these occasions I happened to be seated near the trenches, in a house in which “I had taken up my residence, when hearing a more continued report of musquetry than usual, I hastened, in the midst of the rain and darkness of the “night, to the support of the people in the trenches; and said to the Sirdars of “the Usud Ilhye army, ‘that, with the divine aid, I would the following day, “when the sun was in the meridian [or at twelve o’clock] cut off the heads of “the infidels within their own ditch and batteries, by the hands of my foot “troops;(16) and, in this manner, retaliate their thief-like action of coming “against us in the night.’ Accordingly, under God’s assistance, and the protection of our Prophet, I formed a party of thirty Ehshâm soldiers(17) and “twenty other persons of approved courage;(18) which dividing into two bodies, “I sent one of them, consisting of twenty-five men, in noon-day, against the “gate battery, and the other twenty-five men into the ditch; where each party “falling upon the infidels without religion, they cut off the heads of about forty “of those impure-minded [people].(19) Such as escaped the edge of the sword,(20) “falling into the ditch and other places, fled like chickens, and crept [for “concealment] into the nearest holes. The Usud-Ilhye men, resembling lions, “returned with the prisoners they had made in safety. In fine, the Nazarenes “were reduced to such straits by our fire, that they no sooner saw one of the “Hydery people lift a musquet to his shoulder, than they would take off their “hats, and bow to him like an ape.(21)
“One day the Nazarenes, at break of day, attacked and penetrated into the “trenches at the edge of the ditch. I was seated, at the time, in my quarters, “having just performed my customary exercises,(22) when hearing the noise of “musquetry and of men, I took a company of Usud-Ilhyes, and ran on foot to “the trenches, where I found the Nazarenes standing. The Usud-Ilhye people, “instantly attacking them with sword and bayonet, sent several of them to hell, “and made some of them prisoners. The remnant of the sword took to flight.
“In short, during three months, such was the slaughter on both sides, that the “trenches exhibited nothing but a mixture of mud and clay with the blood and “flesh of men. The toes of many were completely rotted, in consequence of the “excessive rains, and owing to the mire [in the midst of which they were constantly forced to stand]. Often of a dark night, and [wading] through the “floods occasioned by the heavy rain and wind (which here always exceed any “thing known in other parts of our kingdom), I say, often during this time, “have I, both by night and day, gone the rounds, to see that the necessary “works were properly carried on, and that the Ahmedy people were duly watchful. “In consequence, it happened that two or three Sirdars, and others, fell, in the “darkness of the night, into wells, which were then quite full, and became “martyrs, without any one’s knowing of the accident. Moreover, at this time, “the water lay on the ground knee-deep.”
What immediately follows here, in the original, has already been given, in the observations on Letter CCCXXXVI, to the King of France, beginning with the words “Carrying on a mine, &c.” and the passage following that appears in the observations on Letter VIII, to Mahommed Ghyâs Khân and Noor Mahommed Khân, beginning with the words “Previously to the resolution, &c.”
The following memoir is taken from a Persian manuscript, kindly communicated to me by my friend, Lieutenant Colonel M‘Kenzie. The author is Meer Hûsain Ali, a very intelligent Musulman, in the employ of that ingenious and indefatigable explorer of the history and antiquities of the Decan. If it be little more than a genealogical sketch of the distinguished family of which it treats, it possesses, at least, the merit of being derived, as far as it goes, from information obtained chiefly on the spot, and therefore the more likely to be authentic. Its principal defect consists in the total want of dates throughout the earlier part of the narrative; the first one with which we meet being that of the succession of the fourth chieftain, Bhûlool Khân, to the government of Bunkapoor, in A.H. 1022. And though, after this time, the number of years that each chieftain ruled over the principality is uniformly expressed, yet neither the commencement nor the close of the respective administrations, nor any of the few events recorded regarding them, are marked by the specification of the year in which they severally occurred; while even the few dates, deducible from the general narrative, are liable to considerable doubts and difficulties. I have endeavoured to supply this omission as well as I could; but have not always been able to do so entirely to my own satisfaction. When I may happen, therefore, to differ, with respect to dates, from preceding writers, I beg to be understood to do so with suitable diffidence, and not to pledge myself for the accuracy of my author.
It may be proper to observe, that with regard to the manner of writing the
name of Shânoor, I have, throughout the present article, conformed to the orthography
of Meer Hûsain, which I believe to be that in most general use. For though
sometimes written in the Persian
I have only another observation with which to detain the reader. Perhaps, strictly speaking, the term Principality may not be properly applicable to such a state as that of Shânoor; since its chieftains have never, I believe, been distinguished by the appellation of princes, though as well entitled to it as many individuals among the Nabobs and Râjahs of India, on whom Europeans have bestowed it. As, in most respects, however, they exercised sovereign power, and virtually, at least, transmitted their possessions to their descendants, I have thought it allowable to follow the example of other writers who have spoken of them; and to give the name in question, not only to their fief, but likewise to the two other Patan chiefships of Kurnool and Kurpah.
The Patan family, of which it is here proposed to give a brief account, and which, during a period of nearly three centuries, make a conspicuous figure in the annals of the Decan, affect, in common with every Afghan(1) tribe throughout the East, to derive their origin from Khâlid bin-Wâlid, who was one of the most celebrated of the companions of Mahommed. What is more certain, however, than this boasted descent, is, that they justly reckon among their ancestors some of the principal nobles of the Musulman kingdom of Beejapoor. Of these, the acknowledged founder of the dynasty, was
who first distinguished himself during the reign of Ismâel Adil Shâh,(2) by whom he was raised to the dignity of an Omra of one of the higher orders. Being of a remarkably swarthy complexion, as well as of a savage appearance and nature,(3) the Decanese gave him the name of Kâlâ-puhâr, or the black mountain. After attaining, under Ali Ibrâheem Adil Shâh,(4) the successor of Ismâel, to some of the first offices of the state, he lost his life at Ahmed Nugr, in a battle with the army of Nizâm Shâh.(5) He was succeeded by his eldest son,(6)
who, under the title of Futah Lushkur Khân, acquired great celebrity, during the reign of Ali Adil Shâh;(7) from whom he received, besides the Musnud, or dignity, of an Omra of one thousand five hundred, the much coveted distinctions of the standard and kettle-drum.(8) He closed a brilliant career, in the course of which he was no less eminent as a statesman than as a warrior, by falling honourably in battle, as his father had done. He was succeeded by his son,
who was so favoured by fortune, that he is said to have never failed in any military enterprize in which he engaged. No doubt he owed much of this extraordinary success to the enthusiastic attachment of his followers: an attachment which would appear to have been inspired, in the first instance, by their confidence in his valor and prudence, and subsequently confirmed by his earnest care to provide, on all occasions, for their ease and comfort. By these means he soon outstripped, in reputation and influence, the most eminent of his cotemporaries at the court of Beejapoor.
This was manifested in his appointment to the government of Bunkapoor, and in his elevation, at the same time, to the dignity of an Omra of five thousand, with the command of four thousand horse. The Soubah(9) of Bunkapore, as it was then called, comprized twenty-two Mahals, and was estimated to yield an annual revenue of fifty-four lacks of rupees. It does not distinctly appear, upon what footing the Patan received this important charge; but the Narrative affords sufficient grounds for believing, that the tenure by which he held it was of the nature of a military Jageer, or fief.(10)
However this might be, Jubbâr Meea, remaining himself in attendance on his sovereign, dispatched his son, Bhûlool Khân, to take possession, and administer the affairs, of his new government in his name. This Bhûlool Khân was, like his great-grandfather, of a sable complexion: and being, moreover, of a huge stature, and remarkable for the squalidness of his usual dress, he received from his subjects the appellation of Rugty Kâlâ Puhar, or “the dirty black mountain;” the word rugut signifying, in the Canarese dialect, dirty or filthy. He was a man of extraordinary intrepidity, but of a sanguinary and cruel disposition. Hateful, however, as his character was, it would appear to have conduced considerably, by the universal terror which it inspired, to the early and advantageous settlement of the country committed to his care.
Jubbâr Meea is stated to have fallen in battle, like both his predecessors, and to have been succeeded, in the year 1022 of the Higera, by his son.
who would, hereupon, appear to have removed the seat of his government from the town and fortress of Bunkapoor, to a place in the vicinity thereof, called Sânoor, or Shânoor-hully; to which he is said to have been attracted by the beauty of its environs and the salubrity of its air. Here he founded and peopled a large city, to which he gave the name of Shânoor; erecting in it a handsome palace for his own residence, and several commodious bazars (or market-places) for the convenience of the inhabitants. Bunkapoor, being thus abandoned by its chiefs, fell rapidly to decay, so that there is hardly a trace of it to be seen at this day. The fate of Shânoor itself has been little better, “that delightful city being now “reduced,” says our author, who wrote only about ten years ago, “from an “earthly paradise, surrounded by pleasant gardens, abounding in fruits of various “sorts, and fertilized by numerous canals, to the condition of the meanest of all “mean places.”
Nothing further is recorded of Bhûlool Khân, till the period when Aurungzebe appearing in the Decan, at the head of the Moghul forces, many of the nobles of the now declining kingdom of Beejapoor began to swerve from their allegiance, and to consult their own personal interests, at the expence of those of their natural sovereign and native country. Among these was Bhûlool Khân, who, no longer keeping any terms with his court, but repairing openly to the camp of the prince, presented the latter with a Nuzr of three lacks of rupees and other costly gifts, in return for which he obtained an imperial patent of confirmation in the Soubahdâry of Bunkapoor; for the protection of which from any attempts that might be formed against it by his justly incensed sovereign, he now proceeded to raise an adequate force. He appears, about the same time, to have successfully employed his credit with the prince, in favour of an old friend and fellow student, named Khizr Khân Beeny; who obtaining, through the recommendation of Bhûlool, the Sircar of Kurnool in Jageer, together with the dignity of an Omra of the empire, became the founder of the Patan dynasty of Kurnool, of which a succinct account is given in Appendix G.
Bhûlool Khân, exclusive of the term of his administration as his father’s deputy, is stated to have ruled over the principality of Shânoor during a period of forty-nine (lunar) years; upon his death he was succeeded by his son,
The Emperor’s son, Sultan Moaazim, being sent, after the fall of Beejapoor, to reduce Ahmedâbûd Beder, that place soon opened its gates to him, in consequence of the sudden death of its governor, Mirjân Hubshy, occasioned by the explosion of a powder-magazine.(13) Here this weak prince, yielding to the suggestions of a wild ambition, and to the interested advice of evil counsellors, formed the extravagant project of wresting the reins of government from the hands of a parent, whom he was taught, by his flatterers, to consider as superannuated, and no longer fit to rule. He announced this rebellious purpose by causing the Khûtbah(14) to be read in his own name at Beder, and by attempting to establish his authority in Ahmed nugr, Jûnair, &c. The Emperor, upon being informed of these proceedings, assembled together his principal Omras, and stating to them what had occurred, demanded, at the same time, if there was any one among them who would undertake to bring the deluded prince (for whose personal safety, notwithstanding his outrageous conduct, his father was still anxious) alive and unhurt before him. All present at this audience, with the single exception of Duleel Khân, appearing to shrink from the arduous task proposed to them, maintained a profound silence. He alone, without the least hesitation, declared his readiness to fulfil the Emperor’s wishes; whereupon Allumgeer, in admiration of his zeal and intrepidity, immediately saluted him by the title of Dileer Khân (or the valiant Lord), and dispatched him, without delay, on the service which he had so promptly undertaken.
Dileer Khân (as he must now be called), putting himself at the head of his followers,(15) proceeded the same night from the imperial camp, and taking the road to the rebel army, addressed a plausible letter to Moaazim Shâh; in which he pretended “to be disgusted at the neglect which he had experienced from Allumgeer, and to be desirous of attaching himself to the cause, and of participating “in the fortunes of his Highness.” The credulous prince, ignorant of what had recently passed at the imperial court, and unsuspicious of treachery, joyfully accepted the insidious overture of the Patan, to whom he immediately wrote, urging him to hasten his arrival. Dileer Khân, having, by these means, introduced himself into the camp of Moaazim Shâh, contrived, in the course of the interview to which he was soon admitted, to make such progress in the prince’s good graces, that the latter gave directions for the Afghan quarters to be established contiguously to his own. The following day being appointed for the march of the rebel army, Dileer Khân repaired, at an early hour, to the tent of the prince; who was easily persuaded, in order to do honour to the new favourite, to mount the elephant of the Patan, by whom it had been pre-concerted that Moaazim Shâh’s personal retinue, together with his baggage, should be completely encompassed by his own troops. In this array, Dileer Khân himself being seated behind the prince in the Khuwâsy,(16) the party proceeded for some time, without the least distrust, either on the part of Moaazim Shâh, whose attention the Patan took care effectually to occupy, or of any of his immediate attendants. The elephant on which he rode being remarkably swift footed, and the driver being directed in his route by occasional signs from his master, the army of the prince was quickly left far in the rear. At length some of the royal retinue, perceiving that they had entered upon the road leading to Beejâpoor, proclaimed the treason of the Patan, and attempted to impede his progress: the latter, however, instantly causing the most active of them to be put to death, all further resistance to his design immediately ceased. The Patan now applied himself to console and encourage his captive, with whom he proceeded, by rapid marches, to Beejâpoor, where he soon delivered him, in perfect safety, and surrounded with his usual state, into the hands of the overjoyed monarch. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the latter amply requited the delicate and important service rendered on the present occasion by Dileer Khân; on whom, indeed, he is said to have heaped such unprecedented honours, as excited considerable jealousy in the breasts of the other Omras of the imperial court.
After this, Dileer Khân distinguished himself, in an eminent degree, at the sieges of Golcondah and Dowlutâbâd, as well as on various other occasions. He displayed, in particular, considerable talents and address, in the course of the operations which he was employed to conduct against Yunkut Naig, the Polygar of Shoolapoor; whom he reduced to such straits, as at length compelled that stubborn chieftain to acknowledge the imperial authority, after he had firmly and successfully resisted, for three years, every effort of Allumgeer to subdue him.
Dileer Khân now retired to the seat of his government; nor would either he, or the other Patan chieftains of the Decan, appear to have taken any part in the succeeding troubles, excited by the various intrigues and factions which distinguished the period in question. Dying, at length, in the thirty-second year of his rule over the Shânoor principality,(17) he was succeeded by his son,
of whom nothing in particular is recorded, till the death of Allumgeer, at which period he paid his court so effectually to Khân Jehân, the foster-brother of the late emperor, and governor in chief, or viceroy of the Decan, on the part of the new emperor, that he soon obtained from him the requisite patents of confirmation in his Jageer, or principality.
After some time, taking offence at the great state assumed by Khân Gooreh, the Daise-pândeh(18) of Serhutty,(19) who was a tributary of the Shânoor government, he sent a numerous force against that chieftain, under the direction of his nephew, Khân Meea; who, allowing himself to be surprised and shamefully defeated by very inferior numbers, fell wounded into the hands of the enemy. This misfortune did not, however, prevent Abdûl Ghuffâr from assembling another army, with the avowed purpose of redeeming the credit of his arms, and of effectually chastising his successful adversary: but learning, in the mean while, that the Mahrattahs, whose power had, by this time, become extremely formidable to their neighbours, were preparing to march to the Gooreh’s assistance, he determined, with more prudence than spirit, to retire from the contest; and accordingly, in consideration of a trifling sum of money, agreed to be paid by his vassal, he not only receded from all his late arrogant pretensions, but, together with an honorary dress, accompanied by corresponding assurances of future favor and protection, conferred upon the Daise-pândeh the additional title of Behâdûr.(20)
Khân Jehân dying about this time, was succeeded in the government of the Decan by Meer Hûsain Ali Khân, the younger of the two ambitious brothers, celebrated, in the history of this turbulent period, under the appellation of the the Siyuds of Bârheh. Hereupon the Patan chieftain dispatched his son, Ghufoor Meea, to Bûrhânpoor, with a considerable Nuzr in money, and other valuable presents for the new viceroy, who, in return for this seasonable complement, confirmed him in the possession of his Jâgeer, as well as of the other dignities enjoyed by his predecessor. After this he gave himself up to a life of ease and dissipation, and at length dying, in the twenty-eighth year(21) of his government, was succeeded by his above-mentioned son,
who was scarcely seated on the Musnud, before he was called upon to repel an invasion of the Mahrattahs, headed by a chieftain of the Râsta family, by whom great ravages were, for some time, committed in the Patan territories. At length Ghufoor Meea, encountering the enemy in the environs of Misry-Kotah, gave them a considerable defeat; which, however, only obtained him a temporary respite from hostilities, since the fugitives, having procured a reinforcement from Gopaul Râo Ghoarpurreh, the Nâzim (or governor) of Mirij, were soon in a condition to renew their depredations on the Shânoor districts, immediately adjoining to their own frontier, which they accordingly continued to harass for nearly two years longer. At the end of this period the Patan was glad to avail himself of the mediation of Gopaul Râo, in order to effect an accommodation with the invaders, who, upon his paying them about a lack of rupees, in goods and money, and ceding to them the fort and district of Misry-Kotah, agreed to withdraw from his dominions.
From this time Ghufoor Meea remained at peace until his death, which took place in the ninth year of his government,(22) and during the Nawâb, Asof Jah’s,(23) viceroyalty of the Decan. He was succeeded by
who already aspiring to complete independence, omitted paying his court to Asof Jah, and rashly assumed the management of his patrimony, without applying for, or obtaining, the customary patent of confirmation from the viceroy. By this conduct he drew upon himself, as might be expected, the displeasure of Asof Jah, who had, about this period, transferred the seat of his government from Aurungabad to Hyderabad, and who lost no time in preparing to chastise the contumacy of the Patan. With this view, after having dispatched his grandson, Hidâyet Mohyûddeen Khân (better known afterwards by the title of Mûzuffer Jung) to take possession of Beejapoor, he marched himself directly against Shânoor, many of the districts of which he resigned to the depredations of his army. He was, on this occasion, eagerly joined by the disaffected Daise-pândehs of Serhutty, Guduk, and other Polygars; who, stimulated by their habitual hatred of the Afghans, omitted no means of inflaming his resentment against Abdûl Mujeed. Asof Jah, however, was too wary and experienced, to allow himself to be swayed by the interested representations and suggestions of these people; and having nothing in view but to bring the Patan to a proper sense of his duty, he readily admitted of the mediation of the chief of Kurnool for that purpose. Thereupon hostilities ceased, and the negociation terminated in Abdûl Mujeed’s paying two lacks of rupees to the Nizâm; to whom he also made various valuable presents, in return for which he obtained patents of confirmation in all his possessions. It being thought proper, on this occasion, that the Patan should make a visit of form to the Viceroy, he only consented to do so, on the express condition of being received in a manner suitable to the high rank which he held among the Omras of the empire. Accordingly, Nâsir Jung, the second son of Asof Jah, was deputed to conduct him to the Durbâr; where, on his arrival, the Viceroy seated him on the Musnud, with himself. He was even permitted to smoke his Hûkkah during this interview: and when he did homage to Asof Jah, as his official superior, by presenting him with the usual Nuzrs, the Viceroy condescended to receive them standing. In short, Asof Jah omitted no attention towards him, which could gratify his pride or vanity: “having” (as our author observes) “the wisdom to think, that the attachment of so powerful a chieftain “would be cheaply purchased at the price of such trivial concessions.” Nor was he mistaken in his calculation; since the Patan was so highly pleased with the gracious and flattering behaviour of the Viceroy towards him, that, from a contumacious vassal, he was suddenly converted into one of the most useful and zealous adherents of that celebrated personage. This was soon after evinced, by his accompanying Asof Jah, in the year of the Higera(25) 1157 (or A. D. 1744) in the expedition of the latter to the Payen Ghaut Carnatic; where himself and followers acquired considerable renown for their valor on several occasions; particularly at the attack of Nuthurnugr (or Trichinopoly), at that time in the possession of Murâr Râo Ghoarpurreh.
Asof Jah was occupied nerly three years in the settlement of the Carnatic, during the whole of which period Abdûl Mujeed Khân continued in his train. At length having reduced Trichinopoly, and made a satisfactory adjustment with the several Polygars of the Carnatic, the viceroy returned to Hyderabad; at the same time permitting Abdûl Mujeed, and other Patan chieftains, who had attended him in his expedition, to repair to their respective homes.
Asof Jah dying about four years after this,(26) was succeeded, as Soubah of the Decan, by his second son, Meer Ahmed, better known by the title of Nâsir Jung; who being shortly after directed to repair to the court of Dehli, appointed his nephew, Hidâyet Mohyûddeen Khân (more commonly called Mûzuffer Jung) to the temporary charge of his government. It is foreign to the object of the present memoir to enter into a detail of the events which followed: it may suffice to say, that Hidayet, availing himself of his uncle’s absence, and yielding to the persuasion of traitors, assumed the title of Soubah; and that Nâsir Jung, on being apprized of his nephew’s proceedings, excused himself from complying with the imperial summons, and hastened back to Hyderabad. From thence he lost no time in advancing against the rebels; being previously joined, on this occasion, by the different feudatories of the Decan, who either sincerely espoused his cause, or only pretended to do so, for the purpose of betraying him. Among the latter were the Patan chieftains of Shânoor, Kurnool, and Kurpah. The former, however, did not himself accompany the Soubah in this fatal expedition; declining to do so (whether truly or not) on the ground of sickness, and sending his son, Kureem Meea, at the head of a suitable force, in his stead.(27) Nâsir Jung, as is well known, soon after fell a victim to the treachery of the Patan commanders: of whom, however, only one lived to return to his capital; both Kureem Meea and the chief of Kurnool being slain, in the sanguinary feud which arose among the conspirators, within two months from the murder of Nâsir Jung. Hence it appears, that these writers were mistaken, who have represented the actual ruler of Shânoor as an immediate accomplice in the treason of the Patans. It is even uncertain, whether he was, in any measure, privy to the designs of the conspirators.
Abdûl Mujeed would not appear to have taken any share in the troubles which followed the transaction just related, and which continued to disturb the tranquillity of the Decan for five or six years after: nor do we hear further regarding him, till his death, which took place in the thirty-second year of his government,(28) when he was succeeded by
“The heavy misfortunes,” observes my author, “which thus befel, and had “nearly overwhelmed, the Patan state, were, at the moment of their occurring, “very generally regarded (and especially by all devout Musulmans) as a judgment “of heaven upon that tribe, for the treacherous murder of Nâsir Jung;” of which atrocious deed they appear to have been almost universally considered as not only the actual perpetrators, but likewise the chief promoters. The same reflection would be as naturally suggested (and probably was) on occasion of the rapid decline, after this time, of the two other Patan governments, of Kurnool and Kurpah; one of which was, ere long, completely subverted, and the other reduced to a similar state of dependence and insignificance with that of Shânoor, which however, had not yet fallen so low as it was destined to do, at no distant period.
Hyder Ali Khân, having gained possession of the fort of Dhârwâr, through the treachery of its governor, Rûstum Khân(30) (who, on this occasion, engaged in the service of Hyder) proceeded from thence against Shânoor; where Abdûl Hukeem, hastily collecting together what forces he could, dispatched them, under the command of Jubbâr Meea, with orders to oppose the enemy’s advance. The two armies met in the environs of Anwutty; where Hyder completely routed the Patans, and followed up his success so closely, that both Shânoor and Bunkapore were presently invested. Abdûl Hukeem, alarmed at the rapid progress of the invader, determined to seek an accommodation with him; and, for this purpose, made overtures, to which Hyder, “moved,” says our author, “by respect for the “honourable ancestry of the Patan, readily assented.” This sentiment may seem somewhat at variance with the general character of Hyder, if not, indeed, with the usual nature of upstart power: but the issue of this very negociation evinces, that he really did hold nobility of descent in some estimation, since it was one of the conditions of the treaty concluded on this occasion, that a double union, by marriage, should be formed between his own family and that of the Patan.(31) It may be thought, that Hyder was actuated in this proceeding solely by considerations of policy, grounded on the notion, that such a connection was calculated to conduce to the consolidation of his usurped authority. It would be difficult, however, to show, how such a purpose could be promoted by an union with a state, now so depressed, as to require, instead of being enabled to afford, assistance. Be this as it might, it is certain, that no benefit ultimately resulted to either party from this contract.
Our author has not communicated any of the minuter articles of the treaty in question; nor have I been able to supply the omission from any other source of information. It may be presumed, however, that the Patan government bound itself, on this occasion, both to pay a certain annual tribute, or paishcush, to the Mysore chieftain, and to furnish him, when required, with a specific military force. The former supposition is rendered probable, by the allusions, which we have seen made in Tippoo Sultan’s correspondence with Abdûl Hukeem, to his pecuniary claims on the Patan: while the latter conclusion is also, in some measure, warranted, by the fact of Hyder’s having been accompanied, in most of his subsequent expeditions, by a body of Patan troops. Thus Kheera Meea, with five hundred horse and a thousand infantry, was present at the reduction of Gooty, Bulhâry, Kurpah, and other places, which submitted, about this time, to the authority of his father-in-law; and though he was prevented, by sickness, from attending the latter, during his invasion of the Carnatic, yet on that occasion, also, did the stipulated contingent of the Patan state, headed by another commander, appear among the auxiliary forces of the Mysorean.
Previously to his departure from the neighbourhood of Shânoor, in prosecution of his ulterior plans of conquest, Hyder (whether in conformity with any private article of the treaty, which has been alluded to, or merely at the subsequent solicitation of his new ally, is uncertain) undertook to put the latter, once more, in possession of the greater part of the districts, which, as has been seen, had been wrested from him, a few years before, by the Mahrattahs. This object he accordingly accomplished to a certain extent, recovering some of the districts in question by force, and others by bribery. Nor is it, by any means, necessary, in order to our admitting the probability of this statement, to suppose, that Hyder and the Mahrattahs were, at this juncture, still at war; since aggressions, of the kind here spoken of, frequently take place among neighbouring states and chieftains in India, without leading to a positive rupture, or to general hostilities between them. They are considered, perhaps, as mere border disputes, and are not uncommonly adjusted without any serious or formal appeal to the sword.
We hear nothing further of Abdûl Hukeem till the death of Hyder Ali, at the close of the year 1782, and the consequent accession of Tippoo Sultan to the Musnud: on which occasion, though the commander of the Patan contingent, serving with the Mysore army, took upon him to present the Sultan with the Nuzr and other compliments customary in such cases, no letter of congratulation came from Abdûl Hukeem himself. This omission gave great offence to Tippoo: who, however, did not judge it convenient to take any immediate notice of the affront.
It was about this period, that the famous Dhoondy Jee Wang (or Wâgh) first rendered himself conspicuous in the Decan. He had previously contented himself with petty depredations, in the course of which he had fallen into the hands of the Mahrattahs, who, after some time, were prevailed on (probably by bribes) to restore him to liberty; a favour of which it was not long before he gave them cause to repent. In the mean while, joining the expedition of Hyder Ali to the Carnatic, he served, during the whole of the war in that quarter, in the Mysore army, under the banners of an old associate of his, called Bâdâmy Bhishtâpâ. On the termination of hostilities in the Carnatic, Dhoondy Jee, accompanied only by about seventy or eighty adherents of the same desperate character as himself, hastened to Shânoor; where suddenly appearing at the gate of Abdûl Hukeem’s palace, he declared that chieftain in a state of Dhurna, or siege,(32) and proclaimed his determination not to quit his position, until the Patan either consented to take himself and his followers into his service, at the yearly allowance of a lack of rupees, or otherwise to bestow upon him the Dewâny of such of the Shânoor districts as were still in the possession of the Mahrattahs. To the generality of readers, it will, no doubt, appear extraordinary, if not incredible, that a handful of men, insulated and unsupported as these were, should be able to give the law (as may be said) in his own capital, to a chieftain, surrounded by guards and vassals, who, it may be supposed, could have easily and signally punished the temerity of the intruders. By those, however, who are conversant in the customs of India, or who have perused the singular report referred to at the bottom of the page, the fact, here related, will not be thought irreconcileable with experience or probability. Be this as it may, our author proceeds to say, that Abdûl Hukeem, impatient to get rid of his importunate and daring suitor, and, of the two evils proposed to his choice by Dhoondy Jee, considering the latter as the least, consented to invest him with the office he demanded. Dhoondy having, accordingly, obtained from the fears of the Patan the Sunuds (or patents) necessary for his purpose, hastened, with what followers he could suddenly collect together, in addition to his original party (and in such a country, the temptation to plunder would not fail to procure him many), surprized two or three of the districts in question, seized upon the fortress of Misry-cotah, and finally acquired so considerable a booty, in money and effects, as enabled him to send a Nuzr of two lacks of Shânoory pagodas, together with other valuable presents, to Abdûl Hukeem; who appears to have ratified all his violent and irregular proceedings, not only by accepting a share of the plunder, but by bestowing on the plunderer, in return, an honorary dress, accompanied by other marks of distinction and approbation. After this, Dhoondy Jee, augmenting his force to five or six hundred horse and two thousand foot, continued, for a considerable while, to levy contributions, and to commit every sort of depredation, on the frontiers of the Mahrattahs: and though it is not expressly stated, that he respected, on these occasions, the territories of Shânoor, there is some ground for believing that he did. On the whole, it must be admitted, that there are circumstances in the conduct of Abdûl Hukeem, with regard to this famous free-booter, which, if the Patan did not appear to have been actually of a timid and wavering character, might well warrant a suspicion of collusion between them in the affair of the Dhurna.(33)
Things remained in this situation in the principality of Shânoor, till Tippoo, having made peace with the English, and established his authority in Bidnore, Mangalore, and other parts of his dominions situated to the westward of Seringapatam, which had manifested a disposition to revolt, he now proceeded on his return to his capital, by the route of Râny Bidnore. His arrival at the latter place, which is not far distant from Shânoor, was the signal of alarm to Abdûl Hukeem, who now began to anticipate the effects of Tippoo’s resentment of the slight he had put upon the latter at his accession to the Musnud. In order, therefore, to avert the storm which he thought ready to burst upon him, he hastily dispatched his son, Kheera Meea, with a Nuzr of forty thousand rupees and several rich presents for the offended Sultan, to whom he also sent the best apology he could devise for his past neglect. The experiment succeeded, probably, beyond the Patan’s expectations; for Kheera Meea not only met with a very gracious reception from his brother-in-law, but obtained from him, before they separated, the usual Sunuds, or letters patent, confirming his father in all his possessions. Whether or not the Sultan exacted, at this period, any new concession from Abdûl Hukeem, is not stated by my author, who is also entirely silent, with regard to the probable motives of Tippoo’s moderation on the present occasion.
But whatever these motives might be, Abdûl Hukeem, who had always, during the life-time of Hyder, entertained an equal dread and dislike of Tippoo, did not feel entirely re-assured by the issue of his son’s negociation. When, therefore, Bûrhânûddeen was dispatched, in the beginning of the year 1785, against Nergûnd, it is not to be wondered at, that the fears of the Patan were again awakened, by the arrival of so considerable a force in the vicinity of his capital: especially, as the pecuniary discussions, which took place about the same time between him and the Sultan, were but ill calculated to remove his distrust. It was, accordingly, under these impressions, that Abdûl Hukeem thought he should best consult his safety and interests by joining the coalition, formed at this period by the courts of Poonah and Hyderabad, for the purpose of checking the ambitious projects of the Sultan. He did not, however, openly renounce his dependence on Tippoo, or seek the protection of the allies, till the Sultan appeared to be in full march for Shânoor, when he suddenly and secretly fled from thence, accompanied only by a few of his most attached followers; and of all the riches and valuable property, accumulated, during so many generations by his predecessors, taking with him nothing more than an inconsiderable sum of money, and the equipage which conveyed him to the Mahrattah camp; and leaving behind him the chief part of his family, including Kheera Meea and his wife, the half-sister of the Sultan. The date of this precipitate flight has been commemorated by the following satirical chronogram, composed on the occasion in the Hindivy dialect.
that is, “Hukeem Khân Meeaneh, abandoning every thing, ran away himself,” or “saved himself by flight.”
Tippoo, not a little astonished (or, at least, pretending to be so) at the flight of the Patan, immediately dispatched Meer Sâdik into the town, with orders to sequestrate the whole of the fugitive’s property, which was, of course, done without opposition or difficulty, and, no doubt, with sufficient rigor. Whether the private property of the inhabitants at large was respected on this occasion, is not mentioned; but as no blame was imputable to them, it is reasonable to suppose that it was spared. In the mean while, Kheera Meea, mounted on the only horse he possessed, and accompanied by no more than two or three attendants on foot, hastened to make his submissions to his brother-in-law; who is stated to have received him kindly, and to have asked him what could have induced his father to abandon himself, as he had done, to ruin and disgrace. “I had in no shape,” said the Sultan “offered him the slightest molestation, but, on the contrary, was “daily giving him new proofs of my favor and regard. Alas! that notwithstanding our affinity, and my uniform forbearance and good faith towards him, he “should have thus united himself with my enemies! Never can such a man “behold the face of prosperity.” To this harangue Kheera Meea is reported to have replied, “that it was but too true, that his father had acted wrong, and “sacrificed both the fortunes and honor of his house in a fit of despair:” to which he added an assurance, “that he had been kept to the last moment in entire “ignorance of his father’s intentions.” After this, the Sultan had tents erected near his own, for the accommodation of Kheera Meea and the females of his family, who were likewise daily supplied with provisions from his own table. These attentions, however, did not prevent him from adopting the necessary precautions for guarding against the future escape of his voluntary prisoner.
Peace being concluded, soon after this, between the confederates and Tippoo, the places taken on each side, in the course of the war, were, for the most part, mutually relinquished. It was not, however, without considerable difficulty(35) that Pursaram Bhen and Râsta, who are said to have exerted themselves strenuously on the occasion, succeeded in procuring the restoration of Shânoor to its fugitive chieftain, who, it may easily be conceived, did not obtain this boon, but at the price of many fresh and humiliating sacrifices.
From this time we hear nothing more of Shânoor or its chieftain, till the year 1791, at which period the Mahrattahs, in pursuance of the engagements which they had recently entered into with the English, for the purpose of reducing the power of Tippoo Sultan, advanced against the capital of the latter; but not before they had seized, in their way thither, upon the whole of the Patan territory, in the possession of which they were formally confirmed, the following year, by the partition treaty of Seringapatam. In the meanwhile, Abdûl Hukeem dying,(36) after a long but unprosperous administration, was ostensibly succeeded by his son,
commonly called Kheera Meea, whose inheritance was now reduced to a single Mahal, which the Mahrattahs had the generosity to assign him for his maintenance, and of which, if still living, he probably continues in possession at this day. His wife, I believe, had been withdrawn some years before from his protection, by her brother, in whose Haram she was found, if I recollect rightly, at the capture of Seringapatam; when, I am also inclined to think, that she was pensioned, along with the rest of the late Sultan’s family, by the British government.
The Sultan’s regulations for the commercial department of his government, of which it is proposed to give an outline in the present article, were issued at two different periods; one section of them being dated the 14th of Ahmedy of the year Sâhir, or A.M. 1221,(1) and another, the 3d of Ahmedy of the following year, Râsikh.(2) They are introduced by two passages from the Koran, headed in the following manner:—
“Two verses from the Word of God, which descended [or were delivered] in “honor of maritime commerce, are here transcribed.”
Then follow the verses in question, the first of which (taken from the chapter entitled the Bee), is to this effect:
“It is he who hath subjected the sea [unto you] that ye might eat fish thereout, and take from thence ornaments for you to wear: and thou seest the ships “plowing [the waves] thereof, that ye may seek [to enrich yourselves] of his “abundance by commerce; and that ye might give thanks.”
The second is from the chapter entitled the Greeks, and is as follows:
“Of his signs one is, that he sendeth the winds bearing welcome tidings [of “rain], that he may cause you to taste of his mercy, and that ships may sail at “his command, that ye may seek [to enrich yourselves] of his abundance by “commerce, and that ye may give thanks.”(3)
It might be inferred from this preamble, that the design of the Sultan, in the present regulations, was to provide exclusively for the promotion and encouragement of the maritime trade: but though this was, no doubt, at all times, his principal object, it will, nevertheless, appear, that he was not altogether unmindful of, or indifferent to, the benefits of inland commerce. Whether his manifest preference of the former was founded on the distinction apparently conferred upon it by the quoted passages of the Koran, or arose from a desire of becoming a maritime power, or was a natural consequence both of the local position of a large portion of his dominions, and of their particular produce, I will not take upon me to determine. It is probable, indeed, that each of these considerations had more or less weight with him; besides which, an intercourse with strangers, separated from him by the ocean, was not liable to suggest to his jealous and distrustful mind, the same apprehensions of danger, as were likely to be, and actually were, incessantly created, by whatever tended, in any degree, to a free communication with the countries immediately contiguous to his own.
The regulations in question set out with describing the general duties of the officers
at the head of the commercial department, which the Sultan designated by the
term
The following were the principal objects to which the attention of this board was more especially directed.
1. They were to see that the various articles required for commercial purposes, such as silken stuffs, sandal-wood, pepper, cardamums (great and small), cocoa-nuts, rice, sulphur, elephants, &c. were duly provided [according to the nature of the commodity] as well for importation as for exportation.(5)
2. They were to draw foreign merchants to Mysore, by transmitting to them, for that purpose, the most solid and encouraging assurances [of favour and protection].
3. They were to seek out and engage in the service [of the state] trust-worthy and economical Mûtusuddies, and able and experienced Gûmâshtehs, skilled in accounts and commercial affairs, and of approved integrity and disinterestedness: and having procured such, were to employ them in the several Kohties, or factories, [whether at home or abroad].
4. They were to pay the most minute attention to all the concerns of their department; to investigate the various accounts thereof, in the most rigorous manner; and to be careful, that no frauds, or embezzlements, were committed by any of those employed under them, whether in the foreign factories or in the home depôts.
5. The heads of the departments, as well as the various officers under them, were to pledge themselves in the most solemn manner, according to the forms of their respective religions, to discharge the duties of their several stations, with the utmost diligence, concord, and fidelity.
6. If any of the principal officers of the department should violate, or in any instance swerve from, the duties of his station,(6) all the rest were to unite in exposing the offender to shame and disgrace, and in representing his conduct to the Presence, in order that he might be signally punished for the same, and a useful example be thereby afforded to others.
7. If any of the inferior persons, attached to the different Kohties, or factories, should be guilty of fraud, or other misdemeanors, they were to be punished for the same, agreeably to the law of God.
8. In all cases of difficulty, or of particular importance, the heads of the department (excluding the Mûtusuddies and others from their meetings) were to sit and deliberate together on the same; each person writing down, in a book to be provided for the purpose, his opinion on the point under consideration, and subscribing his name thereto. The book, containing these minutes or consultations, was to be deposited in a box, which was to remain under the seal [of the office], till there might be occasion to refer to it, for the justifications or explanation of the proceedings, or resolutions, of the meeting; which, in case of any difference of opinion, were to be determined by the majority of voices.
9. They were to report their proceedings fully and regularly to the Sultan, whose pleasure on the occasion would be signified in writing, at the back, or at the bottom of the said report.
10. In any transaction relating to large pecuniary advances, or being of such importance as to require particular secrecy, the written documents, necessary to be submitted on the occasion, were to be written in the hand-writing of some member of the board, or of one of the heads of the department,(7) and delivered to the Sultan by such member himself; when a written answer, duly authenticated by the Sultan’s own signature, would, in like manner, be secretly returned to him.
11.(8) Nubby Mâlik [the Prophet is Lord]. All Hûkm-nâmehs and other papers bearing the seal and signature of the Presence, must be deposited in a box, to which the seal [of the department] is to be affixed. This box shall be lodged in the treasury at the seat of the empire [Seringapatam], where it will be taken charge of by the Meer Meerân. Copies [only, of these documents] are to be [taken, and] retained by the proper officers. Nubby Mâlik [as before].
12. Care was to be taken, that all the Mahommedan officers of the department, such as the Mirzâey Duftur, &c. should be selected from the tribe of Koreish, and the sect of Siyuds, following the tenets of Hunifah, to the end that they might agree the better together
Next follow the more specific or detailed directions for the guidance of the department of trade.(9) These are distributed into separate sections, which though numbered, are not titled or headed. They, however, treat briefly
I. Of the marine force.
II. Of the Kohties, or factories, of Muscat and Kutch.
III. Of the appropriation of the fund, or capital, allotted for commercial purposes.
IV. Of the commercial depôts or marts established in Mysore; and of provincial factors, and other officers of commerce.
V. Of the means to be pursued, with a view to the opening and establishing of commercial intercourse with foreign countries.
VI. Of commercial deposits; or a plan for admitting the people at large to a participation in the benefits to accrue from the trade of the country.
VII. Of field Mulikût Tûjârs.
VIII. Miscellaneous regulations.
Before proceeding to communicate the substance of this article, it is proper to apprize the reader, that although, at the date of the following regulations, the marine department was placed under the control and superintendance of the Mulikût Tûjârs, or board of trade, yet it was erected, a few years after, into a separate and independent branch of the government, under the denomination of the Meer Yumm, or admiralty department; of which a more particular account will be found in Appendix K, including a detailed statement of the naval force at that time in the Sultan’s contemplation.
1. You must set about building a hundred ships.(10) In the mean while, ten sail, completely manned, and equipped with warlike stores, have been placed under your orders.
2. It is expected, that you will exert yourselves to collect together [as many] trusty men, experienced in [naval] warfare [as may be procurable], as well as others conversant in the affairs of trade; and that you will labor, with one accord, to promote the prosperity of the commerce of our dominions.
3. The wood, iron, rope, and other articles, which may be required in the construction of the ships ordered to be built, are to be bought [in the countries adjacent to the docks, with the assistance of the Asofs of the districts in question, who will receive the necessary directions for this purpose].11
4. The workmen of every description [employed on this service] must be paid with the utmost regularity, and the ships be completed with all possible dispatch.
5. If the necessary warlike stores should not be procurable for money [or at market], the same is to be represented to the Presence, when we will direct you to be supplied with such articles as you may require [from our own magazines].
The four following articles are extracted from the instructions to the Meer Asof, or revenue department.
6. The merchants established at Jumâlâbâd, Mâjidâbâd, and Wâjidâbad,12 are to engage to build, with all possible expedition, thirty-one three-masted and two-masted vessels, for the purposes of commerce. Eleven of these to be built at Jumâlâbâd, and ten at each of the other places named.
7. The merchants building these vessels shall be allowed to lade them with rice, cocoa-nuts, and any other articles [not reserved for the exclusive trade of the Sircar].
8. After the vessels, here specified, are built, the merchants building them shall discontinue employing the small craft which they now use, and which, at any rate, they are not to be suffered to send to sea after the expiration of a year from this time. All other merchants are immediately to cease from employing the small craft in question.13
9. Whereas the ships of China are precluded, by the circumstance of not being armed,14 from resorting to these seas,15 some of ours must be sent to that country; where due encouragement and assurances being given to the merchants thereof, and the protection of our vessels being afforded them, they will be induced to repair hither, with an abundant supply of the rare productions of that region. These being disposed of, the vessels, so importing, are to be permitted to depart, whenever the owners or merchants please, and are to be safely conducted, under a proper convoy of our ships, to the borders of our dominions.16
Though not stated in the instructions to the commercial department, it appears by an article in those addressed to the Meer Asofs, that there were two factories established by the Sultan at each of the ports of Muscat and Kutch. One of these, belonging to Muscat, consisting of fifty of what are called Chushmehs, was placed under the orders of the Asof of Jumâlâbâd: the other, consisting of thirty-four Chushmehs, was given in charge to the Mulikût Tûjâr department. Again, of the two factories of Kutch, one, consisting of twelve Chushmehs, was committed to the superintendance of the Asof of Wâjidâbâd: the other, containing twelve Chushmehs, being subjected, like the inferior factory of Muscat, to the authority of the commercial board. What is meant by Chushmehs (springs or fountains) I cannot at present state with any confidence; but I think it probable, that the term may have a reference to the number of the commodities, in which the dealings of the respective factories consisted.
The same instructions to the Meer Asofs contain the following additional articles, relative to the factories of Muscat and Kutch, not inserted in those addressed immediately to the Mulikût Tûjârs.
1. Of the six thousand Utls of sulphur, ordered to be annually sent from Muscat, eight hundred Utls are to be delivered to the Asof of Jumâlâbâd, and seven hundred to the Asof of Nugr, for the manufacture of gunpowder.17 The remaining four thousand five hundred Utls are to be dispatched to, and delivered to the charge of, the Kilaadâr of Seringapatam.
2. The Dâroghas and Mûtusuddies employed at the aforsaid factories are to be changed every three years.
The instructions relative to the factories in question, addressed directly to the Mulikût Tûjâr department, were as follow:
1. The factories of Muscat and Kutch are hereby placed under your control and direction; and you are, accordingly, to take charge of all the Hûkm-nâmehs, as well as the official seals,18 appertaining thereto.
2. You will, moreover, dispatch thither trusty and able persons, selected by yourselves, to receive charge of the aforesaid factories from the agents now there, who will be directed to deliver over the same, together with all the stores, &c, appertaining thereto, to the officers whom you shall nominate to supersede them, taking from the latter the necessary receipts for the articles so delivered.
3. You are to report unto us the quantities of round (or black) pepper, sandal-wood, cardamums (great and small), cocoa-nuts, beetle, rice, wax, and honey,19 that you may require [for exportation], in order that the necessary directions may be issued to the Asofs of the Presence for assisting you in the purchase of the same.
4. The profits arising from the sale of the aforesaid articles are to be regularly and faithfully accounted for, and entered in the books of the respective factories.
5. No persons but your Gûmâshtehs, or agents, at the aforesaid factories, are to be allowed to deal in the articles specified.20
6. You are annually to procure from the factory at Muscat six thousand Khâm Utls21 of sulphur of the first quality, and to dispose of the same according as you shall be directed by us, upon your reporting its arrival.
N.B. Most of the articles composing the preceding, as well as the following instructions, are subscribed at the end of each with the words Nubby Mâlik (or, the Prophet is Lord), written in the Sultan’s own hand, and formed in the manner of a cypher. This was the signature by which he always attested his orders.
1. The sum of four lacks of Râhities22 has been committed to you, in trust, for commercial purposes. With this money you are to make the necessary purchases of gold and silver bullion,23 cloths, elephants, &c.24 and to hold the same in readiness [for exportation]. With the blessing (or aid) of God the most high, countless profit shall be hereby acquired.
2. Having stated to the Presence the number of elephants, as well as the several quantities of sandal-wood, cardamums (great and small), round (or black) pepper, rice, beetle, cocoa-nuts (dry and moist), and cinnamon,25 required for commercial purposes [i. e. for exportation], and having thereupon received from us the necessary orders to the Asofs for assisting you in the purchase thereof, at such prices as shall be regulated by them, you will pay into the hands of the said Asofs the value, as so settled, of every article with which you shall be supplied, taking their receipts for the same.
3. All purchases of gold and silver, coined or uncoined, and of silken stuffs made of your department, whether on account of the Presence, of the Asof Kuchurry, or of the Sudoor Kuchurry, shall be paid for in money; and you must, in like manner, pay in money for whatsoever articles you may purchase of the said Kuchurries. If, however, the payments in question should be postponed for three or four months, it will be of no consequence.
4. Gold and silver bullion, jewels, silks, and other valuable articles, may be received as pledges for the payment of goods sold by your agents: thus for goods valued at one thousand rupees, a pledge of the value of 1200 rupees may be accepted.
5. You are to pay the established duties or imposts on all articles,26 in the same manner as is done by the Ryots in general.
1. You are to entertain in our service, and to station at the thirty places within our dominions, hereafter enumerated, the necessary Gûmâshtehs and Mûtusuddies, for carrying on, to the extent suited to the place, a trade in such articles as shall yield a proper profit.
2. The following are the places within our dominions, where you are to establish factories or commercial depôts:
| The Capital or Putn, | Nugr or Bidnore, | |||
| Sulâmâbâd or Sattimungalum, | Shikârpoor, | |||
| Viziemungul or Arivacoochy, | Soondeh, | |||
| Bangalore, | 20. | Kooriâl or Mangalore, | ||
| 5. | Bâgloor, | Khooshâlpoor, | ||
| Colar, | Barkoor, | |||
| Murwâgul, | Gurwâr or Kurwâr, | |||
| Muddunpilly, | Jumâlâbâd, | |||
| Zufurâbâd or Gurramcoondah, | 25. | Bhut-Kullah or Butcul, | ||
| 10. | Punganoor, | Futahâbâd, | ||
| Rachouty, | Kuroor or Guroar, | |||
| Fyze-Hisâr or Gooty, | Gurrup or Kurrup, | |||
| Dhurumwâr, | Bunwâsy, | |||
| Furrûkh-yâb-Hisâr or Chittledoorg | 30. | Gurdoon-Shikoh or Nundy-doorg. | ||
| 15. | Bay-nuzeer27 or Hurriâl, |
3. Other subordinate agents are to be employed, for the like purpose, at such places in our dominions (yielding proper produce for trade) as are not comprehended in the foregoing list. These agents are to be changed every year.28
4. There is no objection to your disposing of the articles heretofore enumerated, and being the produce of our dominions, to private merchants, who may be desirous of speculating in the same on their own account.29
5. Besides the Gûmâshtehs to be employed in the different depôts above enumerated, you are to station with every Asof throughout our dominion, a Nâib, or deputy, who must be a trust-worty person, and a man of respectable character and condition. He is to have a Mûtusuddy for an assistant. Before dispatching these persons, however, to their stations, you must obtain sufficient security for their good behaviour, and then producing them in the Presence, procure our special signature to their nomination.
6. The subordinate agents, mentioned in Article 3, are to be placed under the control and authority of the Nâibs, or deputies, stationed with the Asofs.
7. The aforesaid Nâibs and Mûtusuddies are to accompany the Asofs, in the annual attendance of the latter on the resplendent Presence, for the purpose of celebrating the Eed, or festival, of Zilhijjah. Immediately on their arrival [at court], you must examine their accounts of receipts and disbursements, and prepare an abstract thereof for our information.
8. On a certain day, to be occasionally appointed, all the Musulman officers belonging to your department shall be entertained, at the charge of the Sircar, with a public repast, to consist of Pûllâo of the first sort. The Mûtusuddies and others, being Hindoos, shall, at the same time, have a separate repast provided for them, to consist of rice, and such other articles as usually compose their food. The whole of them, after this, are to be brought into the Presence, when the above-mentioned accounts are to be produced and examined; and they are to make such verbal communications, relative to their respective concerns, as may be judged requisite. This business being concluded, they are to receive the pawn leaf,30 to make their obeisance, and to withdraw.
9. You are to procure the special signature of the Presence to the afore-mentioned accounts, and to preserve the same in your office.
10. You are [periodically] to receive back from the Nâibs and Mûtusuddies above-mentioned, all such letters and receipts [or acknowledgements] whether formal or informal,31 as you have previously written or sent to them. Of these you are to make a list [or abstract], which, after affixing a seal and signature to it, your are to deliver to the said Nâibs, in lieu of the original documents, which last are all to be destroyed.32
1. You must address Urzies to the Sirdârs [or chiefs] of foreign countries,33 and send the same, together with [suitable] presents for the said Sirdârs, by the hands of persons of respectable character and condition. After applying to, and obtaining from, those Sirdârs, the necessary Kowl34 for the purpose, you will proceed to establish factories in their countries, by appointing and sending thither the requisite officers, duly provided with money.
2. These officers [or Nâibs, as they are called in the original] are to be instructed to purchase and send hither all the rare and curious productions of those countries, which, on arriving here, are to be sold [on our account, or for our benefit]. In like manner are the rarities and commodities of this country to be sent to the aforesaid factories, and there sold [on our behalf].
3. The factories to be thus established in foreign countries are to be seventeen in number (including those of Kutch and Muscat, already existing) agreeably to the following list:
Kurnool,
Cheena-putn or Madras,
Pondicherry,
Poonah,
Kurpah,
Nagore (in Tanjore),
Wyrâg (depending on Poonah),
Mâligong (ditto on Hyderabad),
Pâgar Koteh (belonging to the Râsta,) |
Utnee (belonging to
the Râsta),
Nândair (depending on Hyderabad),
Humnâbâd (ditto),
Rachore (Adoni),
Muscat,
Kutch,
Kurachy-bunder of Sinde belonging to
Nuseer Khân Buloche,
Mahé-bunder, to France. |
4. You are authorized to expend such sums as shall appear necessary and proper to you, for the purpose of establishing the aforesaid factories.
5. Proper agents must be stationed at those places in our dominions, where silken stuffs, of a superior quality, are fabricated, whose business it shall be to make œconomical contracts for the provision thereof. The stuffs, so provided, are then to be exported to the places where they may be in demand.
6. Agents must, also, be sent to those foreign parts noted for their silken manufactures; which being purchased, are to be brought hither, and sold at an advantageous price.35
7. Sending, in charge of your deputies or agents, to other countries, the produce of our dominions, and disposing of the same there, the produce of those countries must be brought hither in return, and sold at such prices as will afford [good] profit.36
1. All praise and glory be to the most high God, who, breathing life into a handful of clay, which was before inanimate, gave it the form of man; and who has raised some chosen individuals [of the species] to rank and power, riches and rule, in order that they might administer to the feeble, the helpless, and the destitute, and promote the welfare of their people.
In pursuance of this duty, we now decree as follows:
2. That whosoever shall deposit with you any sum, from five to five hundred Imaumies,38 for the purpose of being employed in traffic [on his account], such person shall be entitled to receive [from you], at the end of a year, together with the principal amount of the said deposit, a profit, or increase, of half an Imaumy on every Imaumy so deposited or advanced.39
3. That whosoever shall make a similar deposit, of from five hundred to five thousand Imaumies, such person shall, in like manner, be entitled to receive, at the end of a year, together with the principal amount of his advance, a profit thereon of a quarter Imaumy on every Imaumy so deposited.40
4. That for every sum exceeding five thousand Imaumies which shall be so deposited, the person making such deposit shall be entitled, at the end of a year, to receive, together with his principal, a profit, or increase, to be calculated at the rate of twelve Imaumies on every hundred Imaumies of such principal.41
5. That this regulation shall remain in force from generation to generation.
6. That whenever any person, making a deposit of the nature above described, shall think proper to apply for the restoration of any part of such deposit, together with the proportion of profit which may be due thereon, the same shall be immediately paid to him, without hesitation or dispute, and a receipt for the amount be taken from him.
7. That in the event of the death of any person making a deposit of the nature aforesaid, the heirs and successors of such person, shall, on producing the certificates (bearing the seal of the Sircar) which were granted by the Mulikût Tûjâr department to the deceased, at the time of his making the deposit in question, and on due proof being obtained of their being the rightful claimants, be entitled to receive the amount of the same [principal and profit], without demur or delay.42
Here follow some subsidiary regulations, respecting the mode in which the accounts of these transactions were to be kept, which it is not thought necessary to insert.
1. As often as three or more Kushoons of the Meer Meerân department, together with two or more Kushoons of the Meer Sudoor department,43 are sent upon any service of the Khodâdâd Sircar, there are to be attached to such force one Meer Meerân [or general officer in command], one Meer Sudoor, one Meer Asof,44 one Meer Khâzin,45 and one Mulikût Tûjâr, who are conjointly to order all issues of pay and other disbursements, and to consult together on all matters relating to the interests of the state, such as war, revenue, the state of garrisons, &c. on which occasions the result of their deliberations is to be committed to writing, according to which they are to act.46 The record, containing the aforesaid deliberations, is to be deposited in a box, which is to be sealed up, and lodged as directed in Article 21 of the first section of these Regulations.
2. When one or two Kushoons are detached on any service, under a Bukhshy or Sipahdâr of the Meer Meerân department, or when one Kushoon from the Meer Sudoor department is so detached, there must be sent with such Bukhshy or Sipahdâr, from each of the departments of state above enumerated, a person of respectable character and condition, and properly qualified for the situation; whose duty it shall be to assist in all deliberations on the affairs of government, in the same manner, and with the same authority, as prescribed in the case of a Meer Meerân, &c. employed with a superior force.
3. You must accordingly provide five men of respectable family, and duly qualified for the occasional discharge of the trust in question, and present them [for our approval]: after which you must give them the necessary instructions for their guidance in the service for which they are designed, and hold them in readiness to proceed on the same whenever required.47
1. Every possible encouragement was to be given to the culture of sandal-wood and black pepper; the Ryots’ share of which articles of produce was constantly to be bought up, on account of the Sircar.
2. The commercial Nâibs, stationed with the several provincial Asofs, were authorised to employ Gûmâshtehs, throughout their respective districts, for the purpose of trafficking in all articles, excepting those exclusively reserved for the account of government (among which sandal-wood, and coined and uncoined gold and silver, are particularly specified). With the exception of such articles, they might deal freely48 in all others, without let or hindrance from the Asofs, who, on the contrary, were directed to be aiding to them in their commercial pursuits. No other persons (except those to be presently mentioned), were, on any account, to be suffered to exercise the same free trade.
3. The several Asofs and Aumils, throughout the country, were allowed to employ their own property49 in trade; and were, moreover, exempted from the payment of duties.
4. Whenever a Durbâr, or court, was to be held, notice thereof was to be given to the chief officers of the several departments of state; and, among the rest, to the Mulikût Tûjârs, one of whom, accompanied by a Mirzâey Duftur,50 and a Hindooy Duftur, was always to attend the Durbâr, on such occasions, and to remain there till it broke up: as well in order that the said Mulikût Tûjârs might, in succession, acquire a knowledge of the general transactions of the government,51 as that they might be enabled to state verbally to the Sultan, such matters, concerning their own particular department, as might require his attention.
5. Elephants, required for exportation, were to be bought of the Sircar;52 and such as might be wanted for the immediate use of the Sultan, were to be procured from Mahmood-bunder,53 and other places.
6. The Mulikût Tûjârs were to collect all the gold and silver bullion they could from the various factories under their direction, and to send the same to be coined to the fourth mint,54 at Seringapatam, which was to be paid the established mintage on the amount.
It was said above, that the verbal order issued by the Sultan, on the occasion in question, was “contrary to his established custom.” This is the Sultan’s own admission; for he expressly says, that, excepting in the instance mentioned, it had been his uniform practice to communicate the orders of march in writing, and never verbally. These orders, which were written in the Persian language, were sealed, and directed to the several commanding officers of divisions and corps, to whom they were always delivered at nine o’clock the preceding night. This was their tenor: “To-morrow the army marches. Parade at such an “hour; and falling into your proper station on the line of march, follow our special cavalcade [or retinue].” The general, it seems, was accustomed to beat at three o’clock in the morning, and the assembly at five. ((Though I do not know that any terms were applied by the Sultan to these signals, corresponding with our “general,” and “assembly,” yet there is no doubt that the two distinct notices mentioned (and which were given by the kettle-drum) were intended to answer the same purpose.)) After the inadvertency, of which he confesses himself to have been guilty in the above-mentioned instance, the Sultan became more strict and particular on this point than ever. Among other regulations which he framed on this occasion, one was (as stated in his Memoirs) to give sealed routes to officers in the command of marching corps. These routes were numbered on the outside, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. the first specifying the place to which the corps was to proceed on the first day; the second, its destination on the following day, and so on. These routes, or orders, were not to be opened till the troops had moved off their ground, and, in fact, commenced their day’s march. As, by this contrivance, even the commanding officer himself was kept in ignorance of the point to which he was to march till he was actually in motion, there was the less danger of a premature discovery of his destination by an enemy’s spies.
↩“At the period when Enkus Khân, a distinguished nobleman of the kingdom of Beejapoor, was “invested with the charge of the Soubahdâry of Bunkapoor and its dependencies, Lukmaiser ((Serhutty is situated, according to the map prefixed to Colonel Wilks’s History of Mysore, about twelve miles northeast of Lukmaiser, which is placed about twenty miles north of Shânoor.)) being a “populous and flourishing town, he chose it for the seat of his government. Not far from thence stood “the village of Serhutty, whither the governor occasionally resorted, either on business or for pleasure. “On one of these occasions he happened to receive a trifling service from the Puttail of the village “(who was a Lingayet, named Soampa) which some superstitious notion appears to have led him to “requite in the most absurd and extravagant manner; since, sending for him the following day, he “publickly adopted him, in open Durbâr, conferred upon him the office of Daise-pândeh of Lukmaiser, “with a Jageer of five thousand rupees, and gave him the title of Khân-gooreh, or, as it may be “interpreted, Lord of the village. ((I am by no means confident that this is the sense in which the appellation in question was employed, my author not having given any explanation of it.)) He continued in high favour with Enkus Khân during the life of “the latter, who did not forget him at his death, but bestowed upon him, at that moment, his own “state elephant, together with his standard and Nobut. ((The Nobut consists of the kettle-drum, and other musical instruments, which an Omra may be privileged to use.)) These honourable pledges of their patron’s “esteem, constituted, henceforward, the chief pride and most valued distinction of the Khân-gooreh’s “family; who, to this day, hold the memory of their original benefactor in such reverence, that they “never light a lamp or candle of an evening, without invoking his name.
“The Khân-goorehs (who are also sometimes called Kunchun-goorehs) continued in the undisturbed “possession of their office and lands, from the time of the transfer of the Soubah of Bunkapoor to the “Patan chieftain, Jubbâr Meea, till the administration of Abdûl Ghûffar Khân; who, as above related, “involved himself in a frivolous quarrel with
“the eldest son, and successor of the first Khân or Soampa; who vainly endeavoured, through “the medium of agents deputed for the purpose, to prove to the Patan the unreasonableness of “his displeasure; and as vainly sought every practicable means (except that of discontinuing the “use of the standard and kettle drum, bequeathed to his family by Enkus Khân) to appease and “conciliate his offended superior. At length, urged by despair, the Daise-pândeh, fixing the “teekah ((The Teekah is the line which Hindoos draw, on certain occasions, across their foreheads. It is made sometimes with a consecrated earth, sometimes with a preparation of sandal; the latter being used only on very particular occasions, like the present.)) of sandal on his forehead, waving the interdicted banner, and invoking the assistance “of its lamented donor, rushed suddenly, at the head of no more than five hundred horse and “a thousand foot, upon the Afghan forces, over whom he obtained the signal victory mentioned “in the text, and thereby reduced the Patan chieftain to the ultimate necessity of granting him an “honorable peace.
“Dud Khân Gooreh was, some time after this, succeeded by
“the fourth son of Soampa, who attaching himself to the Mahrattah chief, Balajee Râo, obtained from the latter the farm of the entire district of Serhutty, yielding a yearly revenue of “two lacks and sixty thousand rupees, of which he agreed to pay one lack of rupees annually to “the Mahrattah government. This arrangement continued in force till the year 1764, when the “successes of Hyder Ali Khân obliged, not only the Patan chief of Shânoor, but most of the “Polygars of the surrounding country, to submit to the conqueror’s authority. At this period, the “Daise-pândeh of Serhutty was
“a grandson of Chuk Khân Gooreh; who throwing himself on the protection of Hyder, the latter, “on condition that he remitted in future to Seringapatam the same tribute he had hitherto paid to “the Mahrattahs, allowed him to retain possession of his Taalûks. Hyder moreover, with a view to “encourage the neighbouring Polygars, treated him, while he remained in the Mysore camp, with “considerable distinction, and finally dismissed him with various flattering marks of his favor.
“The Daise-pândehs of Serhutty continued, from this time until the year 1792, under the protection “of the Mysore government. They then became once more subject to the authority of the “Mahrattahs; who, by virtue of the partition treaty of Seringapatam, acquired possession of all the “country situated to the northward of the Tungbuddra. Since this period, no further change would “appear to have taken place in their condition.”
↩Among the papers found at Seringapatam, there is a curious document, in the hand-writing of Tippoo Sultan, on the subject of Dhoondy Jee Wâg, of which the following is nearly a literal translation.
“The question [or case] proposed by the Khodâdâd Sircar, for the consideration of all the four
“departments of government, and of Bishna Pundit, and relating to the robber, Dhoondy Jee, is
“this:—first, the aforesaid robber has many times humbly represented, through the medium of
“Bishna Pundit, and once or twice in Urzies from himself [to us], that he was the servant of the
“Sircar, and that, if a little help were afforded him by the Sircar, he would [engage to] take all the
“country of Shânoor; and [again], that he was the servant of the Khodâdâd Sircar. In answer hereto,
“that person was told, once or twice, by letter from ourselves, and furthermore by different verbal
“communications, that as it was [a time of] peace, we should [or could] positively afford him no
“assistance. To the same effect we sent him word, about two months ago, by Futah Shâh, saying, you
“‘are a servant of the Khodâdâd Sircar, and our well wisher: you must [therefore] never enter the
“territories of the Khodâdâd Sircar, as, by your doing so, the peace would be disturbed [or broken];
“but you may remain in the territories of others, and do therein what you will.’ This message
“being delivered to him, he sent back, along with Futah Shâh, an Afghan of the name of Omar
“Khân, to whom he gave in charge a horse and an Urzee for us. On the arrival of these two persons
“in the Presence, we demanded of them an account of the situation of affairs in that quarter: to
“which Futah Shâh answered, that this was the intention of the accursed Râo; namely, to introduce
“himself, by whatever means might be [practicable], into the Presence, and there labour, after being
“admitted to the honor of Islâmism, to attain distinction and renown; and that he had, accordingly
“sent his confidential [friend or servant], Omar Khân, for the purpose of representing these particulars
“to us in detail. The following day we summoned Omar Khân, together with Futah Shâh, to our
“Presence, where we desired [the former] to state truly to us, and without lying, what Dhoondy Jee had
“said. Hereupon the aforesaid [Omar Khân] made a similar communication to us; namely, ‘that the
“real wish of Dhoondy Jee was to obtain an introduction to the Presence, and by approving (after
“his admission to the honor of Islâmism) his zeal and devotion in our service, to secure to himself
“an honorable name.’ The communication of this wretch being concluded, we [being still doubtful of its
“accuracy] made him repeat it, which that nobody accordingly did. After this we said [to him], ‘well, but
“wherefore does he come hither?—By his coming, displeasure will arise between us and the Poonah people.
“Let him remain there; and we will secretly supply him with what money and other articles he may
“require.’ To this, that ass [or Omar Khân] rejoined, ‘that he had [already] stated to us what the
“utmost wish and object of Dhoondy Jee was, and could only add, that he was actuated by no other.’
“Hereupon we further said: ‘it is well: do you go back to Dhoondy Jee, and say to him, that the
“first condition [prescribed by us] is, that he shall agree to embrace the faith: the second, that he
“shall marry [under our direction] into some respectable family: furthermore, that upon his
“receiving the honor of Islâmism, he shall be put in possession of one or other of these two forts,
“namely, the fort of Murugsera or Husmungy, together with a Jâgeer [adequate to the maintenance]
“of a thousand horse. If (we added) he does not agree to these things, his coming hither will not
“be proper.’ To this effect did we three or four times, sending for Omar Khân, signify our
“pleasure to him. We even desired him to repeat aloud what we had stated to him, in order that
“we might be satisfied whether or not he [perfectly] remembered, or had rightly comprehended, the
“same; whereupon that dog repeated the whole, word for word. What is here stated took place
“three or four times. After this, giving that dog a horse to ride, we dispatched him, with directions
“to be expeditious, and to inform the catamite
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“The remaining particulars [of this affair] will be verbally made known by Meer Sâdik, Mahommed “Rizâ, and Purnia. If the above-named be kept [here], no doubt strife [or enmity] will arise [in “consequence] with the three infidels;* ((Meaning the English, the Mahrattahs, and the Nizâm.)) and if we send him away, still will enmity ensue; you will, “therefore, write down, what shall appear to you advisable and beneficial on this occasion. It was “owing to the confidence which we placed in the communications of the reprobate dog [Omar “Khân] that we sent for Dhoondy Jee to the Presence, in order that we might have an interview “with him.”
Then follows the opinion of the counsellors referred to, and of which a translation is subjoined. It appears to be in the hand-writing of Mahommed Rizâ (the Binky Nabob):
“The humble representation (or opinion) of the slaves of all the three ((In the Sultan’s reference to them they are said to be four.)) departments of government, “that is to say, of the Meer Meerân, ((That is, Mahommed Rizâ.)) the Asof, and the Sudoor, is this:—
“With respect to the keeping, or sending away, of Dhoondy Jee, as directed to be considered by “the Presence, there is no doubt, or question, that the keeping of him will be attended with complete “evil, and give rise to enmity [or disagreement] with all the three infidels. On the other hand, if “he be sent away, the same enmity will be produced. Therefore, what we, your slaves, humbly “suggest, is, that Dhoondy Jee be kept imprisoned, and never be released. The humble representation, “this 14th day of the month Tukky, year Râsikh, and of the birth of Mahommed 1222, ((Corresponding to the 10th June 1794.)) of
“MEER MAHOMMED SADIK, Asof.
“ǁ ((The original signature, in this place, appears, in the Canarese character. It is, probably, that of Purnia. There is another signature rather obscurely written, which may be read Budrûz Zumân. It is not the least curious circumstance attending this opinion, in which the Mahrattahs are called infidels, that it should have been subscribed (as there is reason to believe it was) by a Hindoo!)) * * * * * *
“GHULAM ALI, Sudoor,
“MAHOMMED RIZA.”
Next follows, in the Mahrattah language, the opinion of Bishna Pundit; to which a Persian translation, in the hand-writing of Mahommed Rizâ, is subjoined: Here is the opinion of the Pundit.
“Dhoondy Jee is not a person of [good] faith: he is without faith. He is not fit to be retained, “nor ought he to be released: he should be put to death.”
The milder judgment, however, of the majority prevailed. Dhoondy Jee was retained in prison, and did not recover his liberty, till the day on which Seringapatam was stormed and taken; when, availing himself of the confusion of the moment, he effected his escape, and collecting together a numerous force, which the recent subversion of the Mahommedan dynasty of Mysore made particularly easy, made head for a considerable time against the British army. He was in the end, however, defeated and slain, in an action with Colonel Wellesley, on the 10th September 1800.
↩ In the “Historical and Political View of the Decan,” of which I am not in possession, but which is
quoted by Captain Moor, Abdûl Hukeem Khân is said to have been “the seventh in lineal descent, as
“occupant, and the fourtb, as sovereign ruler of Shânoor and its dependencies.[”] The former part of
this statement agrees exactly with the detailed genealogy given in the present articlc, Abdûl Hûkeem
having been the seventh in descent from Jubbâr Meea, the first occupant of the principality in question.
What is meant by his being the fourth sovereign ruler of it, is not equally apparent; since Hûsain Ali
says nothing of Abdûl Ghuffâr Khân’s (who must have been the first of those rulers) having attained to,
or assumed, a state of absolute independence. But there is a passage in his account of Ibraheem Khân,
the fourth chief of the Patan dynasty of Kurnool, which may serve to explain this point. That chief is
there said to have obtained from Khân Jehân Kokeh, the viceroy of the Decan, instead of the usual
patent of confirmation in his Jâgeer, a new grant, in which the former stipulations,
((Original