Part 2
The air of Agra is warm and dry; physicians say that it depresses the spirits (ruhra ba tahlil mibarad) and induces weakness. It is unsuited to most temperaments, except to the phlegmatic and melancholy, which are safe from its bad effects. For this reason animals of this constitution and temperament, such as the elephant, the buffalo, and others, thrive in its climate.
Before the rule of the Lodi Afghans, Agra was a great and populous place, and had a castle described by Mas`ud b. Sa`d b. Salman in the ode (qasida) which he wrote in praise of Mahmud, son of Sultan Ibrahim, son of Mas`ud, son of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, on the capture of the castle--
"The fort of Agra appeared in the midst of the dust Like a mountain, and its battlements like peaks." [5]
When Sikandar Lodi designed to take Gwalior he came to Agra from Delhi, which was the capital of the Sultans of India, and settled down there. From that date the population and prosperity of Agra increased, and it became the capital of the Sultans of Delhi. When God Almighty bestowed the rule of India on this illustrious family, the late king, Babar, after the defeat of Ibrahim, the son of Sikandar Lodi, and his being killed, and after his victory over Rana Sanga, who was the chief of the Rajas of Hindustan, established on the east side of the Jumna, on improved land, a garden (charbagh) which few places equal in beauty. He gave it the name of Gul-afshan (Flower-scatterer), and erected in it a small building of cut red stone, and having completed a mosque on one side of it he intended to make a lofty building, but time failed him and his design was never carried into execution.
In these Memoirs, whenever Sahib qirani is written it refers to Amir Timur Gurgan; and whenever Firdus-makani is mentioned, to Babar Padshah; when Jannat-ashyani is used, to Humayun Padshah; and when `Arsh-ashyani is employed, to my revered father, Jalalu-d-din Muhammad Akbar Padshah Ghazi.
Melons, mangoes, and other fruits grow well in Agra and its neighbourhood. Of all fruits I am very fond of mangoes. In the reign of my father (`Arsh-ashyani) many fruits of other countries, which till then were not to be had in India, were obtained there. Several sorts of grapes, such as the sahibi and the habshi [6] and the kishmishi, became common in several towns; for instance, in the bazars of Lahore every kind and variety that may be desired can be had in the grape season. Among fruits, one which they call ananas (pineapple), which is grown in the Frank ports, [7] is of excessive fragrance and fine flavour. Many thousands are produced every year now in the Gul-afshan garden at Agra.
From the excellencies of its sweet-scented flowers one may prefer the fragrances of India to those of the flowers of the whole world. It has many such that nothing in the whole world can be compared to them. The first is the champa (Michelia champaca), which is a flower of exceedingly sweet fragrance; it has the shape of the saffron-flower, but is yellow inclining to white. The tree is very symmetrical and large, full of branches and leaves, and is shady. When in flower one tree will perfume a garden. Surpassing this is the keora [8] flower (Pandanus odoratissimus). Its shape and appearance are singular, and its scent is so strong and penetrating that it does not yield to the odour of musk. Another is the rae bel, [9] which in scent resembles white jessamine. Its flowers are double and treble (?). Another is the mulsari [10] (Mimusops Elengi). This tree, too, is very graceful and symmetrical, and is shady. The scent of its flowers is very pleasant. Another is the ketaki [11] (Pandanus ?), which is of the nature of the keora, but the latter is thorny, whereas the ketki has no thorns. Moreover, the ketki is yellowish, whereas the keora is white. From these two flowers and also from the chambeli [12] (Jasminum grandiflorum), which is the white jessamine of wilayat (Persia or Afghanistan), they extract sweet-scented oils. There are other flowers too numerous to mention. Of trees there are the cypress (sarw), the pine (sanubar), the chanar (Platanus orientalis), the white poplar (safidar, Populus alba), and the bid mulla (willow), which they had formerly never thought of in Hindustan, but are now plentiful. The sandal-tree, which once was peculiar to the islands (i.e., Java, Sumatra, etc.), also flourishes in the gardens.
The inhabitants of Agra exert themselves greatly in the acquirement of crafts and the search after learning. Various professors of every religion and creed have taken up their abode in the city.
After my accession, the first order that I gave was for the fastening up of the Chain of Justice, so that if those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practise hypocrisy in the matter of those seeking justice, the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention. Its fashion was this: I ordered them to make a chain of pure gold, [13] 30 gaz in length and containing 60 bells. Its weight was 4 Indian maunds, equal to 42 `Iraqi maunds. One end of it they made fast to the battlements of the Shah Burj of the fort at Agra and the other to a stone post fixed on the bank of the river. I also gave twelve orders to be observed as rules of conduct (dasturu-l-`amal) in all my dominions--
(1) Forbidding the levy of cesses under the names of tamgha and mir bahri (river tolls), and other burdens which the jagirdars of every province and district had imposed for their own profit.
(2) On roads where thefts and robberies took place, which roads might be at a little distance from habitations, the jagirdars of the neighbourhood should build sara'is (public rest-houses), mosques, and dig wells, which might stimulate population, and people might settle down in those sara'is. If these should be near a khalisa estate (under direct State management), the administrator (mutasaddi) of that place should execute the work.
[14](3) The bales of merchants should not be opened on the roads without informing them and obtaining their leave.
(4) In my dominions if anyone, whether unbeliever or Musalman, should die, his property and effects should be left for his heirs, and no one should interfere with them. If he should have no heir, they should appoint inspectors and separate guardians to guard the property, so that its value might be expended in lawful expenditure, such as the building of mosques and sara'is, the repair of broken bridges, and the digging of tanks and wells.
(5) They should not make wine or rice-spirit (darbahra) [15] or any kind of intoxicating drug, or sell them; although I myself drink wine, and from the age of 18 years up till now, when I am 38, have persisted in it. When I first took a liking to drinking I sometimes took as much as twenty cups of double-distilled spirit; when by degrees it acquired a great influence over me I endeavoured to lessen the quantity, and in the period of seven years I have brought myself from fifteen cups to five or six. My times for drinking were varied; sometimes when three or four sidereal hours of the day remained I would begin to drink, and sometimes at night and partly by day. This went on till I was 30 years old. After that I took to drinking always at night. Now I drink only to digest my food.
[16](6) They should not take possession of any person's house.
(7) I forbade the cutting off the nose or ears of any person, and I myself made a vow by the throne of God that I would not blemish anyone by this punishment.
(8) I gave an order that the officials of the Crown lands and the jagirdars should not forcibly take the ryots' lands and cultivate them on their own account.
(9) A government collector or a jagirdar should not without permission intermarry with the people of the pargana in which he might be.
(10) They should found hospitals in the great cities, and appoint physicians for the healing of the sick; whatever the expenditure might be, should be given from the khalisa establishment.
(11) In accordance with the regulations of my revered father, I ordered that each year from the 18th [17] of Rabi`u-l-awwal, which is my birthday, for a number of days corresponding to the years of my life, they should not slaughter animals (for food). Two days in each week were also forbidden, one of them Thursday, the day of my accession, and the other Sunday, the day of my father's birth. He held this day in great esteem on this account, and because it was dedicated to the Sun, and also because it was the day on which the Creation began. Therefore it was one of the days on which there was no killing in his dominions. [18]
(12) I gave a general order that the offices and jagirs of my father's servants should remain as they were. Later, the mansabs (ranks or offices) were increased according to each one's circumstances by not less than 20 per cent. to 300 or 400 per cent. The subsistence money of the ahadis was increased by 50 per cent., and I raised the pay of all domestics by 20 per cent. I increased the allowances of all the veiled ladies of my father's harem from 20 per cent. to 100 per cent., according to their condition and relationship. By one stroke of the pen I confirmed the subsistence lands [19] of the holders of aimas (charity lands) within the dominions, who form the army of prayer, according to the deeds in their possession. I gave an order to Miran Sadr Jahan, who is one of the genuine Sayyids of India, and who for a long time held the high office of sadr (ecclesiastical officer) under my father, that he should every day produce before me deserving people (worthy of charity). [20]I released all criminals who had been confined and imprisoned for a long time in the forts and prisons. [21]
At a propitious hour I ordered that they should coin gold and silver of different weights. To each coin I gave a separate name, viz., to the muhr of 100 tola, that of nur-shahi; to that of 50 tola, that of nur-sultani; to that of 20 tola, nur-daulat; to that of 10 tola, nur-karam; to that of 5 tola, nur-mihr; and to that of 1 tola, nur-jahani. The half of this I called nurani, and the quarter, rawaji. With regard to the silver coins (sikkas). I gave to the coin of 100 tola the name of kaukab-i-tali` (star of horoscope); to that of 50 tola, the name of kaukab-i-iqbal (star of fortune); to that of 20 tola, the name of kaukab-i-murad (star of desire); to that of 10 tola, the name of kaukab-i-bakht (star of good luck); to that of 5 tola, the name of kaukab-i-sa`d (star of auspiciousness); to that of 1 tola, the name of jahangiri. The half jahangiri I called sultani; the quarter, nisari [22] (showering money); the dime, khair-i-qabul (the acceptable). Copper, also, I coined in the same proportions, and gave each division a particular name. I ordered that on the gold muhr of 100, 50, 20, and 10 tola the following verse by Asaf Khan [23] should be impressed--namely, on the obverse was this couplet:--
"Fate's pen wrote on the coin in letters of light, The Shah Nuru-d-din Jahangir";
and between the lines of the verse the Creed (Kalima) was impressed. On the reverse was this couplet, in which the date of coinage was signified:--
"Through this coin is the world brightened as by the sun, And the date thereof is 'Sun of Dominion' (Aftab-i-Mamlakat)." [24]
Between the lines of the verse, the mint, the Hijra year, and the regnal year were impressed. On the nur-jahani, which is in the place of the ordinary gold muhr and exceeds it in weight by 20 per cent. (as 12 to 10), is impressed this couplet of the Amiru-l-umara:--
"Shah Nuru-d-din Jahangir ibn Akbar Padshah Made gold's face bright with the sheen of sun and moon."
Accordingly, a hemistich was impressed on each face, and also the mint, and the Hijra and regnal year. The jahangiri sikka, also, which is greater in weight by 20 per cent., was reckoned as equal to a rupee, its weight being fixed in the same manner as that of the nur-jahani (each was a tola in weight, but one was in gold and the other was in silver). The weight of a tola is 2 1/2 misqals of Persia and Turan. [25]
It would not be good to give all the versified chronograms which were made for my accession. I therefore content myself with the one which Maktub Khan, the superintendent of the library and picture gallery, and one of my old servants, composed--
"The second lord of conjunction, Shahinshah Jahangir, With justice and equity sat on the throne of happiness. Prosperity, Good Fortune, Wealth, Dignity, and Victory, With loins girt in his service, stood rejoicing before him. It became the date of the accession when Prosperity Placed his head at the feet of the Sahib-Qiran-i-Sani." [26]
To my son Khusrau a lakh of rupees was presented that he might build up for himself the house of Mun`im Khan, [27] the (former) Khankhanan, outside the fort. The administration and government of the Panjab was bestowed on Sa`id Khan, [28] who was one of the confidential nobles and connected with my father by marriage. His origin was from the Moghul tribe, and his ancestors were in the service of my forefathers. At the time of his taking leave, as it was said that his eunuchs oppressed and tyrannized over the weak and the poor, I sent a message to him that my justice would not put up with oppression from anyone, and that in the scales of equity neither smallness nor greatness was regarded. If after this any cruelty or harshness should be observed on the part of his people, he would receive punishment without favour. [29]
Again, having previously bestowed on Shaikh Farid Bukhari, who had been Mir Bakhshi in my father's service, a dress of honour, a jewelled sword, a jewelled inkstand and pen, I confirmed him in the same post, and in order to exalt him I said to him, "I regard thee as Sahibu-s-saif-wa-l-qalam" ("Captain Sword and Captain Pen"). Muqim, [30] to whom my father had given at the end of his reign the title of Wazir Khan and the viziership of his dominions, I selected for the same title, rank, and service. I also gave Khwajagi Fathu-llah a dress of honour, and made him a bakhshi, as formerly `Abdu-r-Razzaq Ma`muri, although when I was prince he had left my service without cause or reason and had gone over to my father, I made bakhshi as formerly, and I gave him a dress of honour. To Aminu-d-daula, who when I was prince had the post of bakhshi, and without my leave had run away and taken service with my revered father, not looking to his offences I gave the office of Atish-i-begi [31] (Head of the Artillery), which he had held under my father. I left all those who were in possession of posts, both inside and outside, in the positions which they had with my father. Sharif Khan [32] had lived with me from his early years. When I was prince I had given him the title of khan, and when I left Allahabad to wait upon my honoured father I presented him with a drum and the tuman-togh (standard of yak tails). I had also promoted him to the rank of 2,500 and given him the government of the province of Bihar. I gave him complete control over the province, and sent him off there. On the 4th of Rajab, being fifteen days after my accession, he waited upon me. I was exceedingly pleased at his coming, for his connection with me is such that I look upon him as a brother, a son, a friend, and a companion. As I had perfect confidence in his friendship, intelligence, learning, and acquaintance with affairs, having made him Grand Vizier, I promoted him to the rank of 5,000 with 5,000 horse and the lofty title of Amiru-l-umara, to which no title of my servants is superior. Though his position might have warranted a higher rank, he himself represented to me that until some notable service on his part had become perceptible to me he would not accept a higher grade than that mentioned (5,000).
As the reality of the loyalty of my father's servants had not yet become apparent, and certain faults and errors and unbecoming intentions which were not approved at the throne of the Creator or pleasing to His creatures had shown themselves, they of themselves became ashamed. Though on the day of my accession I had forgiven all offences and determined with myself that I would exact no retribution for past deeds, yet on account of the suspicion that had been aroused in my mind about them I considered the Amiru-l-umara my guardian and protector; although God Almighty is the guardian of all His servants, and is especially so of kings, because their existence is the cause of the contentment of the world. His father, `Abdu-s-Samad, who in the art of painting had no equal in the age, had obtained from the late king (Jannat-ashyani) Humayun the title of Shirin-qalam (Sweet pen), and in his council had attained a great dignity and was on intimate terms with him (the king). He was one of the chief men of Shiraz. My honoured father, on account of his former services, paid him great honour and reverence. I made Raja Man Singh--who was one of the greatest and most trusted noblemen of my father, and had obtained alliances with this illustrious family, inasmuch as his aunt had been in my father's house (i.e. was his wife), [33] and I had married his sister, and Khusrau and his sister Sultanu-n-nisa Begam, the latter of whom is my eldest child, were born of her--as before, ruler of the province of Bengal. Though as in consequence of certain of his acts he had no expectation of this favour towards himself, I dignified him with a charqab (vest without sleeves) as a robe of honour, a jewelled sword, and one of my own horses, and sent him off to his province, which is a place of (or can keep up) 50,000 horse. His father was Raja Bhagwan Das. His grandfather, Raja Bihari Mal, was the first of the Kachwaha Rajputs to have the honour of entering my father's service, and he excelled his tribe in truth and sincerity of friendship, and in the quality of valour. After my accession, when all the nobles with their retinues presented themselves at my palace, it came into my mind that I should send this body of retainers under my son, Sultan Parwiz, to make a holy war against the Rana, who was one of evil deeds, and a foul infidel of the country of Hindustan, and in my father's time had had troops sent constantly against him, but had not been driven off. In a fortunate hour I invested my said son with gorgeous robes of honour, a jewelled waist-sword, a jewelled waist-dagger, and a rosary of pearls intermixed with rubies of great price of the value of 72,000 rupees, `Iraq and Turkman horses and famous elephants, and dismissed him. About 20,000 horsemen with nobles and chief leaders were appointed to this service. The first was Asaf Khan, who in my father's time was one of his confidential servants, and for a long time had been confirmed in the post of bakhshi and afterwards became diwan ba istiqlal (Chancellor with full powers); him I advanced from the rank of an Amir to that of Vizier, and promoting him from the command of 2,500 horse to that of 5,000 made him guardian to Parwiz. Having honoured him with a robe of honour, jewelled waist-sword, a horse and an elephant, I ordered that all the mansabdars (commanders), small and great, should not depart from such orders as he thought proper to give them. I made `Abdu-r-Razzaq Ma`muri his bakhshi and Mukhtar Beg, Asaf Khan's paternal uncle, diwan to Parwiz. I also presented to Raja Jagannath, son of Raja Bihari Mal, who had the rank of 5,000, a robe of honour and a jewelled waist-sword.
Again, I gave Rana Shankar, cousin of the Rana--to whom my father had given the title of Rana, proposing to send him with Khusrau against the Rana, but at that time he (Akbar) became a shanqar (a falcon, i.e. he died)--a robe of honour and a jewelled sword, and sent him with him.
I presented Madho Singh, brother's son of Raja Man Singh, and Rawal Sal Darbari with flags, from this consideration, that they were always present at Court and belonged to the Sekhawat [34] Rajputs, and were confidential servants of my father. Each received also the rank of 3,000.
I promoted Shaikh Ruknu-d-din the Afghan, to whom when I was prince I had given the title of Shir Khan, from the grade of 500 to that of 3,500 Shir Khan is the head of his clan and a very valiant man. He lost his arm by the sword in service against the Uzbegs. [35] `Abdu-r-Rahman, son of Shaikh Abu-l-fazl, Maha Singh, grandson of Raja Man Singh, Zahid Khan, son of Sadiq Khan, Wazir Jamil, and Qara Khan Turkman were exalted to the rank of 2,000; all these obtained robes of honour and horses, and were dismissed. Manohar also obtained leave to join the expedition. He is of the tribe of the Sekhawat Kachhwahas, and on him in his young days my father bestowed many favours. He had learned the Persian language, and, although from him up to Adam the power of understanding cannot be attributed to any one of his tribe, he is not without intelligence. He makes Persian verses, and the following is one of his couplets:--
"The object of shade in Creation is this: That no one place his foot on the light of my Lord, the Sun." [36]
If the details were to be described of all the commanders and servants appointed by me, with the conditions and connections and rank of each, it would be a long business. Many of my immediate attendants and personal followers and nobles' sons, house-born ones (khanazadan) and zealous Rajputs, petitioned to accompany this expedition. A thousand ahadis, the meaning of which is single ones (Blochmann, p. 20), were also appointed. In short, a force was collected together such that if reliance on the Friend (God) were vouchsafed, it could have embarked on enmity and conflict with any one of the monarchs of power.
"Soldiers came up from all sides, Seizing life from heroes of the world in battle; They had no fear of death from the sharp sword, No terror of water [37] and no flight from fire; In valour singular, in vigour a crowd, Anvils in endurance, rocks in attack."
When I was prince I had entrusted, in consequence of my extreme confidence [38] in him, my own uzuk seal [39] to the Amiru-l-umara (Sharif), but when he was sent off to the province of Bihar I made it over to Parwiz. Now that Parwiz went off against the Rana, I made it over, according to the former arrangement, to the Amiru-l-umara.