Part 14

As it had been evident that in order to carry on the affairs of the State in the Subah of the Deccan it was necessary to send one of the princes there, it came into my mind to send my son Parwiz there. I ordered them to send his equipments and fix the hour for his departure. I summoned to Court Mahabat Khan, who had been nominated to the command of the army against the rebel Rana to arrange certain matters at headquarters, and appointed in his place `Abdu-llah Khan, whom I exalted with the title of Firuz-jang. I sent `Abdu-r-Razzaq bakhshi to carry an order to all the mansabdars of that army not to depart from the orders of the aforesaid Khan, and to pay every heed to his thanks and blame. On the 4th Jumada-l-awwal one of the goatherds, who are a particular tribe, brought before me a gelded goat that had teats like a female, and gave every day sufficient milk to take with a cup of coffee. [288] As milk is one of the favours of Allah, and the source which nourishes many animals, I looked on this strange affair as an omen for good. On the 6th of the same month, having given him the rank of 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse, I sent Khurram, son of Khan A`zam, to the government of the province of Sorath, which is known as Junagadh (in Kathiyawad). I honoured [289] Hakim Sadra with the title of Masihu-z-zaman, and gave him the rank of 500 personal and 30 horse. On the 16th a jewelled waist-sword was sent to Raja Man Singh. On the 22nd, having handed over 2,000,000 rupees for the expenses of the army of the Deccan, which had been ordered for Parwiz, to a separate treasurer, 500,000 rupees more were given for the private expenses of Parwiz. On the 25th, Wednesday, Jahandar (his son), who previously to this had been appointed, together with Qutbu-d-din Khan Koka, to Bengal, came and waited on me. In reality it became known to me that he was a born devotee. [290] As my mind was taken up with the preparations for the Deccan, on the 1st Jumada-l-akhir I nominated the Amiru-l-umara as well to that duty. He was honoured with the favour of a robe of honour and a horse. Having promoted Karam Chand, son of Jagannath, to the rank of 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse, I sent him in company with Parwiz. On the 4th of the month 370 ahadi horse were appointed with `Abdu-llah Khan to the assistance of the army employed against the Rana. One hundred horses were also despatched from the government stables to be given as he thought proper to the mansabdars and ahadis. On the 17th I gave a ruby of the value of 60,000 rupees to Parwiz, and another ruby with two single pearls, worth about 40,000 rupees, to Khurram. On Monday, the 28th, Jagannath was promoted to the rank of 5,000 personal and 3,000 horse, and on the 8th of Rajab, Ray Jay Singh was promoted to that of 4,000 personal and 3,000 horse, and was dismissed for service in the Deccan. On Thursday, the 9th, Prince Shahriyar from Gujarat came and waited on me. On Tuesday, the 4th, I despatched my son Parwiz on the service of conquering the country of the Deccan. He was presented with a robe of honour, a special horse, a special elephant, a sword, and a jewelled dagger. The Sardars and Amirs who were appointed with him each according to his condition received and were made happy with the favour of a horse, a robe of honour, an elephant, a sword, and a jewelled dagger. I appointed 1,000 ahadis to be in attendance on Parwiz for the service of the Deccan. On the same day a representation came from `Abdu-llah Khan that having pursued the rebel Rana into the hill country into rough places, he had captured several of his elephants and horses. When night came on he had escaped with difficulty with his life. As he had made things go hard with him, he would soon be taken prisoner or killed. I promoted the said Khan to the rank of 5,000 personal, and a rosary of pearls, worth 10,000 rupees, was given to Parwiz. As I had given the province of Khandesh and Berar to the said son, I also conferred on him the fort of Asir, and 300 horse were sent with him to be given to ahadis, mansabdars, and whomever else he might consider worthy of favour. On the 26th, Saif Khan Barha was given the rank of 2,500 personal and 1,350 horse, and appointed to the faujdarship of the Sarkar of Hisar. On Monday, the 4th Sha`ban, an elephant was given to Wazir Khan. On Friday, the 22nd, I gave an order that as bang and buza (rice spirit) were injurious, they should not be sold in the bazars and that gambling should be abolished, and on this subject I issued stringent orders. On the 25th they brought a tiger from my private menagerie to fight with a bull. Many people gathered together to see the show, and a band of Jogis (religious mendicants) with them. One of the Jogis was naked, and the tiger, by way of sport, and not with the idea of rage, turned towards him. It threw him on the ground and began to behave to him as it would to its own female. The next day and on several occasions the same thing took place. As no such thing had ever been seen before and was exceedingly strange, this has been recorded. [291] On the 2nd of the month of Ramazan, at the request of Islam Khan, Ghiyas [292] Khan was promoted to the rank of 1,500 personal and 800 horse. Faridun Khan Barlas was promoted to the rank of 2,500 with 2,000 horse. One thousand tolcha of gold and silver and 1,000 rupees were given in alms on the day of the procession of the sun into the constellation of the Scorpion, which, according to the general acceptation of the Hindoos, is called the Sankrant. On the 10th of that month an elephant was presented to Shah Beg Yuzi [293] (? the panther-keeper), and Salamu-llah, the Arab, who is a distinguished young man and a relative (son-in-law?) of Mubarak, the ruler of Darful. [294] On account of some suspicion that Shah `Abbas had entertained against him, he came to wait upon me. I patronised him, and gave him the rank of 400 personal and 200 horse. Again, another force, containing 193 mansabdars and 46 ahadis, I sent after Parwiz for service in the Deccan. Fifty horses were also entrusted to one of the servants of the Court to convoy to Parwiz.

On Friday, the 13th, a certain idea came into my mind, and this rhymed ghazal was produced:--

"What shall I do, for the arrow of loss of thee has pierced my liver! So that the (evil) eye not reaching me again may reach another? Thou movest as if frenzied, and the world is frenzied for thee. I burn rue lest thy eye should reach me. I am frenzied at union with my friend, and in despair at her absence. Alas for the grief that has o'erwhelmed me! I've grown mad that I may rush on the pathway of meeting: Woe for the time that brought me the news! Jahangir, the time for humility and prayer is every morning, [295] I hope that some spark of light may take effect."

On Sunday, the 15th, I sent 50,000 rupees as sachaq to the house of the daughter of Muzaffar Husain Mirza, son of Sultan Husain Mirza, son of Bahram Mirza, son of Shah Isma`il Safawi, who had been demanded in marriage for my son Khurram. On the 17th of the month Mubarak Khan Sarwani was honoured with the rank of 1,000 personal and 300 horse. Five thousand rupees were also given to him, and 4,000 rupees to Haji Bi Uzbeg. On the 22nd a ruby and a pearl were given to Shahriyar. One hundred thousand rupees were given for the subsistence of the Uymaqs (special cavalry) who had been appointed for service in the Deccan. Two thousand rupees were given to Farrukh Beg, the painter, who is unrivalled in the age. Four thousand rupees were sent for expenditure on Baba Hasan Abdal. One thousand rupees were handed to Mulla `Ali Ahmad Muhrkan (engraver) and Mulla Ruzbihan Shirazi to expend on the anniversary festival of Hazrat Shaikh Salim at his mausoleum. An elephant was given to Muhammad Husain, the writer, and 1,000 rupees to Khwaja `Abdu-l-Haqq Ansari. I gave orders to the Diwans that having raised the rank of Murtaza Khan to 5,000 personal and horse they should give him a jagir. I ordered Bihari Chand Qanungu, of the Sarkar of Agra, to take 1,000 footmen and equipment from the Zamindars of Agra, and, fixing their monthly pay, to send them to Parwiz in the Deccan, and 500,000 rupees more were fixed for the expenses of Parwiz. On Thursday, the 4th Shawwal, Islam Khan was promoted to the rank of 5,000 personal and 5,000 horse, Abu-l-wali Beg Uzbeg to that of 1,500 and Zafar Khan to that of 2,500. Two thousand rupees were given to Badi`u-z-zaman, son of Mirza Shahrukh, and 1,000 rupees to Pathan Misr. I ordered that drums should be given to all of them as their rank had been raised to 3,000 and higher. Five thousand rupees more of the money from my weighing were entrusted for the construction of a bridge at Baba Hasan Abdal and the building that is there to Abu-l-wafa, son of Hakim Abu-l-fath, in order that he might exert himself and put the bridge and the aforesaid building in perfect order. On Saturday, the 13th, when four gharis of day were left, the moon began to be eclipsed. By degrees the whole of its body was obscured, and it continued till five gharis of night had passed. In order to avert the bad omen of this I had myself weighed against gold, silver, cloth, and grain, and gave away in alms all kinds of animals, such as elephants, horses, etc., the cost of all of which was 15,000 rupees. I ordered them to be distributed among the deserving and the poor. On the 25th, at the request of her father, I took the daughter of Ram Chand Bandilab into my service (i.e. married her). I gave an elephant to Mir Fazil, nephew of Mir Sharif, who had been appointed to the faujdarship of Qabulah and those regions `Inayat-ullah was dignified with the title of `Inayat Khan. On Wednesday, the 1st Zi-l-qa`da, Bihari Chand was granted the rank of 500 personal and 300 horse. A khapwa (dagger), adorned with jewels was given to my son Baba Khurram. Mulla Hayati, by whom I had sent a message to the Khankhanan, with a verbal message containing (expressions of) all kinds of condescension and affection, came and brought before me a ruby and two pearls of the value of about 20,000 rupees, which the Khankhanan had sent by him. Mir Jamalu-d-din Husain, who was in Burhanpur and whom I had sent for, came and waited on me. I presented Shaja`at Khan Dakhani with 2,000 rupees. On the 6th of the aforesaid month, before Parwiz arrived at Burhanpur, a petition came from the Khankhanan and the Amirs that the Dakhanis had assembled together and were making disturbances. When I discovered that, notwithstanding the nomination of Parwiz and the army that had proceeded with him and been appointed to his service, they were still in need of support and assistance, it occurred to me that I should go myself, and by Allah's favour satisfy myself with regard to that affair. In the meanwhile a petition came also from Asaf Khan that my coming there would be for the advantage of the daily-increasing State. A petition from `Adil Khan, from Bijapur, also came, that if one of the trusted ones of the Court could be appointed there to whom he could tell his desires and claims, so that the envoy might convey them to me, he hoped that it might become the means of affording profit to these slaves (i.e. himself). On this account I consulted with the Amirs and loyal men, and told them to represent whatever entered into anyone's mind. My son Khan Jahan represented that inasmuch as so many Amirs had been despatched for the conquest of the Deccan, it was not necessary for me to go in person. If he were ordered, he himself would go and attend on the prince and would, please God, perform this duty while serving him. Those words were approved of by all those who were loyal. I had never contemplated separation from him, but as the affair was an important one I necessarily gave him permission, and ordered that as soon as matters had been arranged he should return without delay, and should not remain more than a year in those regions. On Tuesday, the 17th Zi-l-qa`da, he was free to go. I presented him with a special gold-embroidered robe of honour, a special horse with a jewelled saddle, a jewelled sword, and a special elephant I also gave him a yak-tail standard (tuman tugh). I appointed Fida; Khan, who was one of my faithful servants, and to whom I gave a robe of honour and a horse and his expenses, promoting him to the rank of 1,000 personal and 400 horse, original and extra, to go with Khan Jahan, in order that if it were necessary to send anyone to `Adil Khan according to his request, he might despatch him. Lanku Pandit, who in the time of the late king Akbar had come with offerings from `Adil Khan, I also gave leave to go with Khan Jahan, bestowing on him a horse, a robe of honour, and money. Of the Amirs and soldiers who had been appointed with `Abdu-llah Khan to the duty of beating back the Rana, men such as Raja Bir Singh Deo, Shaja`at Khan, Raja Bikramajit, and others, with 4,000 or 5,000 horse, were nominated to support Khan Jahan. I sent Mu`tamad Khan with the announcement that I had made him a sazawal (i.e. one who urges on others), and that he was to act along with Khan Jahan in Ujjain. Out of the men of the palace, I sent 6,000 or 7,000 horse with him, such as Saif Khan Barha, Haji Bi Uzbeg, Salamu-llah `Arab, brother's son of Mubarak `Arab, who had in his possession the province of Jutra(?) [296] and Darful(?) and that neighbourhood, and other mansabdars and courtiers. At the time of giving them leave I gave each one an increase of rank and robe of honour and money for their expenses. Making Muhammad Beg paymaster of the army, I provided him with 1,000,000 rupees to take with him. I sent to Parwiz a special horse, and to the Khankhanan and other Amirs and officers who were appointed to that Subah dresses of honour.

After carrying out these matters I left the city for the purpose of hunting. One thousand rupees were given to Mir `Ali Akbar. As the Rabi` Fasl (Spring season) had arrived, for fear any damage should happen to the cultivation of the ryots from the passage of the army, and notwithstanding that I had appointed a qurisawul [297] (Erskine has Kor, the Yasawal) (probably a kind of provost marshal) with the band of ahadis for the purpose of guarding the fields, I ordered certain men to see what damage had been done to the crops from stage to stage and pay compensation to the ryots. I gave 10,000 rupees to the daughter of the Khankhanan, the wife of Daniyal, 1,000 rupees to `Abdu-r-Rahim Khar (i.e. ass) for expenses, and 1,000 to Qacha the Dakhani. On the 12th, Khanjar Khan, brother of `Abdu-llah Khan, received the rank of 1,000 personal and 500 horse original and extra, and Bahadur Khan, another brother, that of 600 personal and 300 horse. On this day two antelopes with horns and one doe were taken. On the 13th I bestowed on and sent to Khan Jahan a special horse. Having promoted Badi`u-z-zaman, son of Mirza Shahrukh, to the rank of 1,000 and 500 horse, I gave him 5,000 rupees for expenses, and he was sent off with Khan Jahan for service in the Deccan. On this day two male and three female antelope were killed. On Wednesday, the 10th, I killed a female nilgaw and a black antelope with a gun, and on the 15th a female nilgaw and a chikara (gazelle). On the 17th of the month two rubies and a pearl were brought to me by Jahangir Quli Khan from Gujarat, as well as a jewelled opium box, which Muqarrab Khan had sent from the port of Cambay. On the 20th I killed with a gun a tigress and a nilgaw. There were two cubs with the tigress, but they disappeared from view in consequence of the thickness of the jungle and the number of trees. An order was given that they should search for and bring them. When I reached the halting-place my son Khurram brought me one of the cubs, and the next day Mahabat Khan caught the other and brought it. On the 22nd, when I had got within shot of a nilgaw, suddenly a groom (jilaudar) and two kahar (bearers) appeared, and the nilgaw escaped. In a great rage I ordered them to kill the groom on the spot, and to hamstring [298] the kahars and mount them on asses and parade them through the camp, so that no one should again have the boldness to do such a thing. After this I mounted a horse and continued hunting with hawks and falcons, and came to the halting-place.

Next day, under the guidance of Iskandar Mu`in, I shot a large nilgaw, and promoted him to the rank of 600 personal and 500 horse. On Friday, the 24th, Safdar Khan, who had come from the Subah of Behar, had the good fortune to perform his obeisance to me. He presented as offerings a hundred muhrs, a sword, and five female and one male elephant. The male elephant was accepted. On the same day Yadgar Khwaja of Samarkand came from Balkh and paid his respects. He made offerings of an album, some horses, and other presents, and was dignified with a robe of honour. On Wednesday, 6th Zi-l-hijja, Mu`izzu-l-mulk, who had been removed from the paymastership of the army against the rebel Rana, ill and miserable, waited on me. On the 14th of the said month, having pardoned all the faults of `Abdu-r-Rahim Khar, [299] I promoted him to the rank of yuzbashi (centurion) and 20 horse, and ordered him to go to Kashmir and in company with the bakhshi of that place hold a muster of the troops of Qilij Khan and all the jagirdars and Uymaks in the service or not, and to bring the list. Kishwar Khan, son of Qutbu-d-din Khan, came from the fort of Rohtas and had the good fortune to pay his respects to me.

THE FIFTH NEW YEAR'S FEAST FROM THE AUSPICIOUS ACCESSION.

On Sunday, the 24th Zi-l-hijja (20th March, 1610), after two watches and three gharis the sun entered into the constellation of Aries, which is the house of honour and good fortune, and at this auspicious hour the New Year's feast was arranged at Bak Bhal, one of the villages of the parganah of Bari, and according to the rules of my revered father I mounted the throne. On that morning, which was the New Year's Day that lighted up the world, and coincided with the 1st of Farwardin of the 5th year from my accession, I held a public reception, and all the nobles and servants of the Court had the good fortune to pay their respects. Some of the nobles' offerings were laid before me. Khan A`zam gave a pearl worth 4,000 rupees; Miran Sadr Jahan, twenty-eight hawks and falcons, and other gifts; Mahabat Khan, two European boxes, the sides of which were made with slabs of glass, so that whatever was placed inside could be seen from outside in a way that you might say there was nothing between them; Kishwar Khan, twenty-two male and female elephants. In the same way each of the servants of the Court laid before me the presents and offerings that they had. Nasru-llah, son of Fathu-llah sharbatchi (in charge of the sharbat), was placed in charge of the offerings. By Sarang Deo, who had been appointed to carry orders to the victorious army of the Deccan, I sent souvenirs (tabarruk) to Parwiz and to each of the officers. I presented Husamu-d-din, son of Ghazi Khan [300] Badakhshi, who had taken to the ways of a dervish and seclusion, with 1,000 rupees and a farji shawl. The day after the New Year's Day I mounted and started for a tiger-hunt. Two males and a female were killed. I gave rewards to the ahadis who had shown bravery and gone in to the tigers, and increased their monthly pay. On the 26th of the same month I went and busied myself mostly with hunting nilgaw. As the air was hot and the (propitious) hour for re-entering Agra had nearly arrived, I went to Rupbas, and hunted antelope in that neighbourhood for some days. On Saturday, the 1st Muharram, 1019, Rup Khawass, who was the founder of Rupbas, presented the offering that he had prepared. That which pleased was accepted and what remained was given him back as a reward. At the same time Bayazid Mankali and his brothers, who had come from the Subah of Bengal, were honoured with paying their respects. Sayyid Adam, son of Sayyid Qasim Barha, who had come from Ahmadabad, also had the same good fortune. He presented an elephant as an offering. The faujdarship of the Subah of Multan was given to Wali Bi Uzbeg in place of Taj Khan.