Part 16

As the brothers of Khan `Alam became security for him, I brought out of prison `Abdu-s-Subhan Khan, who was in confinement for certain offences, and promoted him to the rank of 1,000 personal and 400 horse, and appointed him to the faujdarship of the Subah of Allahabad, and gave him the jagir of Qasim Khan, the brother of Islam Khan. I sent Tarbiyat Khan to the faujdarship of the Sarkar of Alwar. On the 12th of the same month a representation arrived from Khan Jahan that the Khankhanan, according to my order, had started for the Court in company with Mahabat Khan, and that Mir Jamalu-d-din Husain, who had been nominated by the Court to go to Bijapur, had also gone from Burhanpur, together with the wakils of `Adil Khan, to Bijapur. On the 21st of the same month I promoted Murtaza Khan to the subadarship of the Panjab, which is one of the largest charges in my dominions, and gave him a special shawl. Having appointed Taj Khan, who was in the Subah of Multan to the governorship of Kabul, I added 500 horse to the rank of 3,000 personal and 1,500 horse already held by him. At the request of `Abdu-llah Khan Firuz-jang, the son of Rana Shankar was also promoted in rank. When Mahabat Khan, who had been sent to Burhanpur to ascertain the numbers of the forces of the Amirs appointed to the Deccan, and to bring the Khankhanan, arrived in the neighbourhood of Agra, he left the Khankhanan some stages off the city and came on in front himself, and was honoured with the good fortune of paying his respects and kissing the threshold. After a few days, on the 12th Aban, the Khankhanan came and waited on me. As many of those who were loyal had represented the state of his affairs whether true or false, according to their ideas, and I was displeased with him, because the degree of favour and regard that I previously had observed in his case and that I had seen in my revered father had not produced its effect, I did justice in the matter, for previously to this a letter of appointment to the service of the Deccan for a certain time had been given to him, and he had proceeded there in attendance on Sultan Parwiz with other nobles for that important matter. After he arrived at Burhanpur he had not looked to the opportuneness of the time, and at an improper season for moving, and when forage and other necessaries had not been laid in, he had taken Sultan Parwiz and his forces above the Ghats, and by degrees, in consequence of want of concert among the Sardars and his treachery, and of conflicting opinions, things had come to such a pass that grain was obtained with difficulty, and not a man was to be got for large sums of money. The affairs of the army became so confused that nothing went on properly, and horses, camels, and other four-footed beasts died. In consequence of the exigency of the time he had patched up a kind of peace with the enemy and withdrawn Sultan Parwiz and the army to Burhanpur. As this business did not turn out well, all the well-wishers of the State knew that this division (of counsels) and confusion had arisen from treachery and want of arrangement of the Khankhanan, and represented this to the Court. Although this appeared altogether incredible, at last this impression was left upon my mind, and a representation came from Khan Jahan to the effect that all this mischief and confusion had arisen through the treachery of the Khankhanan; either this service should be left entirely in his control, or, summoning him to Court, I should appoint to this duty this man whom I had myself cherished and brought up, and appoint 30,000 horse to support this slave (Khan Jahan himself), in order that in the space of two years, having freed the whole of the royal province, now in the possession of the enemy, and having brought the fort of Qandahar [319] and other forts on the border into the occupation of the servants of the Court, he should include in the royal dominions the province of Bijapur. If he did not complete this service in that time, he might be debarred from the good fortune of paying his respects (to me) and would not show his face to the servants of the Court. When the relations between the Sardars and the Khankhanan reached this point, I did not consider it advisable for him to be there any longer, and handed over the command to Khan Jahan and sent for him to Court. In reality the cause of my disinclination and want of favour to him was this. The degree of inclination and disinclination towards him in future will be in accordance with whatever may become clear.

I favoured and promoted Sayyid `Ali Barha, who is one of our distinguished young men, with an increase of 500 personal and 200 horse beyond his previous rank, which was 1,000 personal and 500 horse, and gave Darab Khan, son of the Khankhanan, the rank of 1,000 personal and 500 horse, with the Sarkar of Ghazipur as his jagir. Previously to this I had had the daughter of Mirza Muzaffar Husain, son of Sultan Husain Mirza Safawi, ruler of Qandahar, betrothed to my son Sultan Khurram, and on this date, the 17th Aban, as the marriage meeting had been arranged, I went to the house of Baba Khurram and passed the night there. I presented most of the Amirs with robes of honour. Some of those confined in the fort of Gwalior I released, and especially Haji Mirak. Islam Khan had collected 100,000 rupees from the khalisa (directly managed) parganahs. As he was at the head of the army and the service, I handed this over to him as a present. Giving a little gold and silver and some of every kind of jewellery and grain to trustworthy men, I determined that they should distribute them to the poor of Agra. On the same day a report came from Khan Jahan that Iraj, the son of the Khankhanan, had obtained leave from the prince, and according to orders he had despatched him to Court. With regard to what had been ordered in the case of Abu-l-fath, of Bijapur, as the above-mentioned was an experienced man, and his being sent would cause despair to the other Sardars of the Deccan to whom promises had been made, he had (therefore) kept him under surveillance. [320] An order had been sent that as Kesho Das, the son of Ray Kalah(?), was in the service of Parwiz, if any impediment should occur in sending him, he (Khan Jahan) should despatch him whether he wished it or not. Immediately on this becoming known to Parwiz, he gave him leave and said to Khan Jahan: "These few words from my mouth thou wilt represent, that as I would give my existence and life for the service of my visible God (Jahangir), what is there in the being or annihilation of Kesho Das [321] that I should show any resistance in sending him? When they (i.e. the king) send for my confidential servants for any reason it produces a feeling of hopelessness and disquietude of mind in the rest, and becoming known in these regions gives an idea of disfavour on the part of our lord and Qibla (place looked towards in worship). As for the rest, it is His Majesty's order." From the date on which the fort of Ahmadnagar, by the efforts of my deceased brother Daniyal, came into the possession of the heads of the victorious State, up till now, the guardianship and preservation of that place had been entrusted to Khwaja Beg Mirza Safawi, who was a relative of the asylum of pardon Shah Tahmasp. After the disturbance of the rebel Deccanis went to a great length, and they besieged the said fort, he had committed no fault in the duties of devotedness and holding of the fort. When the Khankhanan and the Amirs and other leaders who had assembled at Burhanpur in waiting on Parwiz devoted themselves to the driving back and defeat of the rebels, and from the differences of opinion and quarrels of the Amirs, and the absence of provision of forage and grain, those who looked after matters of importance brought this large army into improper roads and among hills and difficult passes, they in a short space of time rendered it wretched and impotent, and matters had come to such a pass and the difficulty with regard to grain was such that they were giving a life for a loaf. They then turned back helplessly with their objects unfulfilled. The garrison of the fort, who were expecting aid from this army, on hearing this news, lost heart and stability, and tumultuously wished to vacate the fort at once. When Khwaja Beg Mirza became aware of this he endeavoured to soothe and quiet the men, but though he did his best it had no good result. At last, under an agreement, he vacated the fort, and proceeded to Burhanpur, and on the day mentioned waited on the prince. Representations with regard to his coming reached me, and, as it was clear that he had not been wanting in bravery and loyalty, I ordered his rank of 5,000 personal and horse to be confirmed and a jagir to be given him. On the 9th a petition came from some of the Amirs in the Deccan that on the 22nd Sha`ban Mir Jamalu-d-din Husain had gone to Bijapur. `Adil Khan sent his wakil forward for 20 kos, and himself received him at a distance of 3 kos, and took the Mir by the same road to his own residence.

As the desire to hunt overcame me, at a propitious hour determined by the astrologers, when a watch and six gharis had passed on the night of Friday, the 15th Ramazan, corresponding with the 10th Azar in the 5th year (of my reign), I started to hunt, and made my first halt in the Dahrah Garden, which is near the city. At this stage I gave Mir `Ali Akbar leave to go into the city after bestowing on him 2,000 rupees and a special warm wrapper (fargul). In order that the grain and cultivation should not be trodden down by my men I ordered that all should remain in the city but the men who were actually wanted and my personal servants. Having entrusted the charge of the city to Khwaja Jahan I gave him his leave. On the 14th Sa`du-llah Khan, son of Sa`id Khan, was given an elephant. On the 28th, corresponding with the 21st Ramazan, forty-four elephants, which Hashim Khan, son of Qasim Khan, had sent as an offering from Orissa, were produced before me. Of these one was very good and tame; this one I put in my private stud. On the 28th an eclipse (of the sun, kusuf) took place, in order to do away with the unluckiness of which I weighed myself against gold and silver; it came to 1,800 tolas of gold and 4,900 rupees. This, along with several kinds of vegetables and sorts of animals such as elephants and horses and cattle, I ordered to be divided among deserving people who were unprovided for and helpless poor of the city of Agra and other cities in the neighbourhood.

As the affairs of the army which had been nominated for the subjugation of the Deccan under the command of Parwiz, and leadership of the Khankhanan and other high Amirs such as Raja Man Singh, Khan Jahan, Asaf Khan, the Amiru-l-umara, and other mansabdars, and other leaders of every tribe and condition, had ended in this, that they had turned back from half-way and returned to Burhanpur, and all the confidential servants and news-writers who spoke the truth had sent in reports to the Court, that although there were many causes for the ruin of this army, yet the chief reason was the disagreement of the Amirs, especially the treachery of the Khankhanan, it came into my mind that I must send Khan A`zam with another fresh and powerful army to make amends for and set to rights some of the improper proceedings that had arisen from the disagreement of the Amirs that has been described. On the 11th of Day he (Khan A`zam) was honoured with the charge of this duty, and an order was given to the Diwans to make preparations and send him off quickly. I appointed Khan `Alam, Faridun Khan Barlas, Yusuf Khan, son of Husain Khan Tukriyah, `Ali Khan Niyazi, Baz Bahadur Qalmaq, and other mansabdars, near to the number of 10,000 horse, to accompany him. It was settled that in addition to the ahadis who were appointed to this duty 2,000 others should accompany him, making altogether 12,000 horse. Having sent with him thirty lakhs of rupees and several elephants, I gave him his leave and presented him with a magnificent dress of honour, a jewelled sword-belt, a horse with a jewelled saddle, a private elephant, and 500,000 rupees for expenses. An order was given that the chiefs of the civil department should recover this from his jagir. The Amirs who were under his orders were honoured with robes of honour, horses, and presents. I increased by 500 more horse the rank held by Mahabat Khan, of 4,000 personal and 3,000 horse, and ordered him to conduct Khan A`zam and this army to Burhanpur, and having enquired into (the circumstances of) the destruction of the army, should give the order of the appointment of the Khan A`zam to the Amirs of those regions and make them of one purpose and counsel with him. He was to see the state of preparation of the army of those parts, and after arranging all matters should bring the Khankhanan with him to Court. On Sunday, the 4th Shawwal, when near the end of the day, I engaged in a cheetah hunt. I had determined that on this day and Thursdays no animals should be killed and I would eat no meat, on Sunday especially because of the respect my revered father had for that day in not being inclined to eat flesh on it, and in forbidding the killing of any animals for the reason that on the night of Sunday his own honoured birth had taken place. He used to say it was better on that day that all animals should be free from the calamity of those of a butcherly disposition. Thursday is the day of my accession. On that day also I ordered that animals should not be killed, so that whilst sporting I should not shoot an arrow or a gun at wild animals. In hunting with cheetahs Anup Ray, who is one of my close attendants, was heading the men who were with him in the hunt at a little distance [322] from me and came to a tree on which some kites were sitting. When his sight fell on those kites he took a bow and some pointless arrows (tukka) and went towards them. By chance in the neighbourhood of that tree he saw a half-eaten bullock. Near it a huge, powerful tiger got up out of a clump that was near and went off. Though not more than two gharis of day remained, as he knew my liking for tiger-hunting, he and some of those who were with him surrounded the tiger and sent some one to me to give me the news. When it reached me I rode there at once in a state of excitement and at full speed, and Baba Khurram, Ram Das, I`timad Ray, Hayat Khan, and one or two others went with me. On arriving I saw the tiger standing in the shade of a tree, and wished to fire at him from horseback but found that my horse was unsteady, and dismounted and aimed and fired my gun. As I was standing on a height and the tiger below, I did not know whether it had struck him or not. In a moment of excitement I fired the gun again, and I think that this time I hit him. The tiger rose and charged, and wounding the chief huntsman, who had a falcon on his wrist and happened to be in front of him, sat down again in his own place. In this state of affairs, placing another gun on a tripod, [323] I took aim (majra giriftam [324]). Anup Ray stood holding the rest, and had a sword in his belt and a baton (kutaka) in his hand. Baba Khurram was a short distance off to my left, and Ram Das and other servants behind him. Kamal the huntsman (qarawul) loaded the gun and placed it in my hand. When I was about to fire, the tiger came roaring towards us and charged. I immediately fired. The ball passed through the tiger's mouth and teeth. The noise of the gun made him very savage, and the servants who had crowded together could not stand his charge and fell over one another, so that I, through their pushing and shock, was moved a couple of paces from my place and fell down. In fact, I am sure that two or three of them placed their feet on my chest and passed over me. I`timad Ray and the huntsman Kamal assisting me, I stood up. At this moment the tiger made for those who were on the left-hand side. Anup Ray let the rest slip out of his hand and turned towards the tiger. The tiger, with the same activity with which he had charged, turned on him, and he manfully faced him, and struck him twice with both hands on the head with the stick he had in his hand. The tiger, opening his mouth, seized both of Anup Ray's arms with it, and bit them so that his teeth passed through both, but the stick and the bracelets on his arms were helpful, and did not allow his arms to be destroyed. From the attack and pushing of the tiger Anup Ray fell down between the tiger's fore-feet, so that his head and face were opposite the tiger's chest. At this moment Baba Khurram and Ram Das came up to the assistance of Anup Ray. The prince struck the tiger on the loins with his sword, and Ram Das also struck him twice with his sword, once on the shoulder-blade. On the whole it was very warm work, and Hayat Khan struck the tiger several blows over the head with a stick he had in his hand. Anup Ray with force dragged his arms out of the tiger's mouth and struck him two or three times on the cheek with his fist, and rolling over on his side stood up by the force of his knees. At the time of withdrawing his arms from the tiger's mouth, as his teeth had passed through them, they were partly torn, and both his paws passed over his shoulders. When he stood up, the tiger also stood up and wounded him on the chest with his claws, so that those wounds troubled him for some days. As the ground was uneven, they rolled over each other, holding on like two wrestlers. In the place where I was standing the ground was quite level. Anup Ray says that God Almighty gave him so much intelligence that he bore the tiger over deliberately to [325] one side (in the original, that side), and that he knew no more. At this time the tiger left him and was making off. He in that state of bewilderment raised up his sword and followed him and struck him on the head. When the tiger turned his face round, he struck him another blow on the face, so that both his eyes were cut, and the skin of the eyebrows, which had been severed by the sword, fell over his eyes. In this state of affairs, a lamp-man of the name of Salih, as it was time to light the lamps, came in a hurry and by a blind chance [326] came across the tiger. The tiger struck him one blow with his paw and knocked him down. To fall and give up his life were the same thing. Other people came in and finished the tiger's business. As Anup Ray had done this service to me and I had witnessed the way in which he offered his life, after he had recovered from the pain of his wounds and had the honour of waiting on me, I bestowed on him the title of Anira'i Singh-dalan. Anira'i [327] they call in the Hindi language the leader of an army, and the meaning of Singh-dalan is a tiger-slayer. Giving him a special sword of my own, I increased his mansab. I gave Khurram, son of Khan A`zam, who had been appointed to the governorship of the province of Junagadh, the title of Kamil Khan. On Sunday, the 3rd Zi-l-qa`da, I employed myself in fishing, and 766 fish were caught; these were divided in my presence among the Amirs, Ibachkian (?), [328] and most of the servants. I eat no fish but those that have scales, but not because the professors of the Shiah faith look on those without scales as unlawful, but the cause of my aversion is this, that I have heard from old men, and it has become known to me by experience as well, that fish without scales eat the flesh of dead animals and fish with scales do not eat it. From this cause, to eat them is contrary to my disposition. The Shiahs know [329] why they do not eat them and for what reason they consider them unlawful. One of my home-bred camels that was with me in the hunt carried five nilgaws that weighed 42 Hindustani maunds. I had before this sent for Naziri of Nishapur, who excelled other men in the art of poetry, and passed his time in Gujarat as a merchant. At this time he came and waited on me, and imitating a poem of Anwari,

"Again, what youth and beauty this is for the world!"