Chapter XX: Section II: Kābul666 (3)

Owing to my illness and to the earthquake, our plan of going to Qandahār had fallen somewhat into the background. The illness left behind and the fort repaired, it was taken up again. We were undecided at the time we dismounted below Shniz[950] whether to go to Qandahār, or to over-run the hills and plains. Jahāngīr Mīrzā and the begs having assembled, counsel was taken and the matter found settlement in a move on Qalāt. On this move Jahāngīr Mīrzā and Bāqī _Chaghānīānī_ insisted strongly.

At Tāzī[951] there was word that Sher-i-`alī the page with Kīchīk Bāqī _Diwāna_ and others had thoughts of desertion; all were arrested; Sher-i-`alī was put to death because he had given clear signs of disloyalty and misdoing both while in my service and not in mine, in this country and in that country.[952] The others were let go with loss of horse and arms.

On arriving at Qalāt we attacked at once and from all sides, without our mail and without siege-appliances. As has been mentioned in this History, Kīchīk Khwāja, the elder brother of Khwāja Kalān, was a most daring brave; he had used his sword [Sidenote: Fol. 158b.] in my presence several times; he now clambered up the south-west tower of Qalāt, was pricked in the eye with a spear when almost up, and died of the wound two or three days after the place was taken. Here that Kīchīk Bāqī _Dīwāna_ who had been arrested when about to desert with Sher-i-`alī the page, expiated his baseness by being killed with a stone when he went under the ramparts. One or two other men died also. Fighting of this sort went on till the Afternoon Prayer when, just as our men were worn-out with the struggle and labour, those in the fort asked for peace and made surrender. Qalāt had been given by Ẕū'n-nūn _Arghūn_ to Muqīm, and in it now were Muqīm's retainers, Farrukh _Arghūn_ and Qarā _Bīlūt_ (Afghān). When they came out with their swords and quivers hanging round their necks, we forgave their offences.[953] It was not my wish to reduce this high family[954] to great straits; for why? Because if we did so when such a foe as the Aūzbeg was at our side, what would be said by those of far and near, who saw and heard?

As the move on Qalāt had been made under the insistance of Jahāngīr Mīrzā and Bāqī _Chaghānīānī_, it was now made over to the Mīrzā's charge. He would not accept it; Bāqī also could give no good answer in the matter. So, after such a storming and assaulting of Qalāt, its capture was useless.

We went back to Kābul after over-running the Afghāns of Sawā-sang and Ālā-tāgh on the south of Qalāt. [Sidenote: Fol. 159.]

The night we dismounted at Kābul I went into the fort; my tent and stable being in the Chār-bāgh, a Khirilchī thief going into the garden, fetched out and took away a bay horse of mine with its accoutrements, and my _khachar_.[955]

(_e. Death of Bāqī Chaghānīānī._)

From the time Bāqī _Chaghānīanī_ joined me on the Amū-bank, no man of mine had had more trust and authority.[956] If a word were said, if an act were done, that word was his word, that act, his act. Spite of this, he had not done me fitting service, nor had he shewn me due civility. Quite the contrary! he had done things bad and unmannerly. Mean he was, miserly and malicious, ill-tongued, envious and cross-natured. So miserly was he that although when he left Tīrmīẕ, with his family and possessions, he may have owned 30 to 40,000 sheep, and although those masses of sheep used to pass in front of us at every camping-ground, he did not give a single one to our bare braves, tortured as they were by the pangs of hunger; at last in Kāh-mard, he gave 50!

Spite of acknowledging me for his chief (_pādshāh_), he had nagarets beaten at his own Gate. He was sincere to none, had regard for none. What revenue there is from Kābul (town) comes from the _ṯamghā_[957]; the whole of this he had, together [Sidenote: Fol. 159b.] with the _dārogha_-ship in Kābul and Panjhīr, the Gadai (var. Kidī) Hazāra, and _kūshlūk_[958] and control of the Gate.[959] With all this favour and finding, he was not in the least content; quite the reverse! What medley of mischief he planned has been told; we had taken not the smallest notice of any of it, nor had we cast it in his face. He was always asking for leave, affecting scruple at making the request. We used to acknowledge the scruple and excuse ourselves from giving the leave. This would put him down for a few days; then he would ask again. He went too far with his affected scruple and his takings of leave! Sick were we too of his conduct and his character. We gave the leave; he repented asking for it and began to agitate against it, but all in vain! He got written down and sent to me, "His Highness made compact not to call me to account till nine[960] misdeeds had issued from me." I answered with a reminder of eleven successive faults and sent this to him through Mullā Bābā of Pashāghar. He submitted and was allowed to go towards Hindūstān, taking his family and possessions. A few of his retainers escorted him through Khaibar and returned; he joined Bāqī _Gāgīānī's_ caravan and crossed at Nīl-āb.

Daryā Khān's son, Yār-i-ḥusain was then in Kacha-kot,[961] having drawn into his service, on the warrant of the _farmān_ taken from me in Kohāt, a few Afghāns of the Dilazāk (var. Dilah-zāk) and Yūsuf-zāī and also a few Jats and Gujūrs.[962] With these he beat the roads, taking toll with might and main. Hearing about Bāqī, he blocked the road, made the whole party [Sidenote: Fol. 160.] prisoner, killed Bāqī and took his wife.

We ourselves had let Bāqī go without injuring him, but his own misdeeds rose up against him; his own acts defeated him.

Leave thou to Fate the man who does thee wrong;
For Fate is an avenging servitor.

(_f. Attack on the Turkmān Hazāras._)

That winter we just sat in the Chār-bāgh till snow had fallen once or twice.

The Turkmān Hazāras, since we came into Kābul, had done a variety of insolent things and had robbed on the roads. We thought therefore of over-running them, went into the town to Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā's house at the Būstān-sarāī, and thence rode out in the month of Sha`bān (Feb. 1506 AD.).

We raided a few Hazāras at Janglīk, at the mouth of the Dara-i-khūsh (Happy-valley).[963] Some were in a cave near the valley-mouth, hiding perhaps. Shaikh Darwīsh Kūkūldāsh went incautiously right (_auq_) up to the cave-mouth, was shot (_aūqlāb_) in the nipple by a Hazāra inside and died there and then (_aūq_).[964]

(_Author's note on Shaikh Darwīsh._) He had been with me in
the guerilla-times, was Master-armourer (_qūr-begī_), drew a
strong bow and shot a good shaft.

As most of the Turkmān Hazāras seemed to be wintering inside the Dara-i-khūsh, we marched against them.

The valley is shut in,[965] by a mile-long gully stretching inwards from its mouth. The road engirdles the mountain, having [Sidenote: Fol. 160b.] a straight fall of some 50 to 60 yards below it and above it a precipice. Horsemen go along it in single-file. We passed the gully and went on through the day till between the Two Prayers (3 p.m.) without meeting a single person. Having spent the night somewhere, we found a fat camel[966] belonging to the Hazāras, had it killed, made part of its flesh into _kabābs_[967] and cooked part in a ewer (_aftāb_). Such good camel-flesh had never been tasted; some could not tell it from mutton.

Next day we marched on for the Hazāra winter-camp. At the first watch (9 a.m.) a man came from ahead, saying that the Hazāras had blocked a ford in front with branches, checked our men and were fighting. That winter the snow lay very deep; to move was difficult except on the road. The swampy meadows (_tuk-āb_) along the stream were all frozen; the stream could only be crossed from the road because of snow and ice. The Hazāras had cut many branches, put them at the exit from the water and were fighting in the valley-bottom with horse and foot or raining [Sidenote: Fol. 161.] arrows down from either side.

Muḥammad `Alī _Mubashshir_[968] Beg, one of our most daring braves, newly promoted to the rank of beg and well worthy of favour, went along the branch-blocked road without his mail, was shot in the belly and instantly surrendered his life. As we had gone forward in haste, most of us were not in mail. Shaft after shaft flew by and fell; with each one Yūsuf's Aḥmad said anxiously, "Bare[969] like this you go into it! I have seen two arrows go close to your head!" Said I, "Don't fear! Many as good arrows as these have flown past my head!" So much said, Qāsim Beg, his men in full accoutrement,[970] found a ford on our right and crossed. Before their charge the Hazāras could make no stand; they fled, swiftly pursued and unhorsed one after the other by those just up with them.

In guerdon for this feat Bangash was given to Qāsim Beg. Ḥātim the armourer having been not bad in the affair, was promoted to Shaikh Darwīsh's office of _qūr-begī_. Bābā Qulī's Kīpik (_sic_) also went well forward in it, so we entrusted Muḥ. `Alī _Mubashshir's_ office to him.

Sl. Qulī _Chūnāq_ (one-eared) started in pursuit of the Hazāras but there was no getting out of the hollow because of the snow. [Sidenote: Fol. 161b.] For my own part I just went with these braves.

Near the Hazāra winter-camp we found many sheep and herds of horses. I myself collected as many as 4 to 500 sheep and from 20 to 25 horses. Sl. Qulī _Chūnāq_ and two or three of my personal servants were with me. I have ridden in a raid twice[971]; this was the first time; the other was when, coming in from Khurāsān (912 AH.), we raided these same Turkmān Hazāras. Our foragers brought in masses of sheep and horses. The Hazāra wives and their little children had gone off up the snowy slopes and stayed there; we were rather idle and it was getting late in the day; so we turned back and dismounted in their very dwellings. Deep indeed was the snow that winter! Off the road it was up to a horse's _qāptāl_,[972] so deep that the night-watch was in the saddle all through till shoot of dawn.

Going out of the valley, we spent the next night just inside the mouth, in the Hazāra winter-quarters. Marching from there, we dismounted at Janglīk. At Janglīk Yārak T̤aghāī and other late-comers were ordered to take the Hazāras who had killed Shaikh Darwīsh and who, luckless and death-doomed, seemed still to be in the cave. Yārak T̤aghāī and his band by sending smoke into the cave, took 70 to 80 Hazāras who mostly died by the sword.

(_g. Collection of the Nijr-aū tribute._)

On the way back from the Hazāra expedition we went to the Āī-tūghdī neighbourhood below Bārān[973] in order to collect the revenue of Nijr-aū. Jahāngīr Mīrzā, come up from Ghaznī, [Sidenote: Fol. 162.] waited on me there. At that time, on Ramẓān 13th (Feb. 7th) such sciatic-pain attacked me that for 40 days some-one had to turn me over from one side to the other.

Of the (seven) valleys of the Nijr-water the Pīchkān-valley,—and of the villages in the Pīchkān-valley Ghain,—and of Ghain its head-man Ḥusain _Ghainī_ in particular, together with his elder and younger brethren, were known and notorious for obstinacy and daring. On this account a force was sent under Jahāngīr Mīrzā, Qāsim Beg going too, which went to Sar-i-tūp (Hill-top), stormed and took a _sangur_ and made a few meet their doom.

Because of the sciatic pain, people made a sort of litter for me in which they carried me along the bank of the Bārān and into the town to the Būstān-sarāī. There I stayed for a few days; before that trouble was over a boil came out on my left cheek; this was lanced and for it I also took a purge. When relieved, I went out into the Chār-bāgh.

(_h. Misconduct of Jahāngīr Mīrzā._)

At the time Jahāngīr Mīrzā waited on me, Ayūb's sons Yūsuf and Buhlūl, who were in his service, had taken up a strifeful and seditious attitude towards me; so the Mīrzā was not found to be what he had been earlier. In a few days he marched out of Tīpa in his mail,[974] hurried back to Ghaznī, there took Nānī, killed some of its people and plundered all. [Sidenote: Fol. 162b.] After that he marched off with whatever men he had, through the Hazāras,[975] his face set for Bāmīān. God knows that nothing had been done by me or my dependants to give him ground for anger or reproach! What was heard of later on as perhaps explaining his going off in the way he did, was this;—When Qāsim Beg went with other begs, to give him honouring meeting as he came up from Ghaznī, the Mīrzā threw a falcon off at a quail. Just as the falcon, getting close, put out its pounce to seize the quail, the quail dropped to the ground. Hereupon shouts and cries, "Taken! is it taken?" Said Qāsim Beg, "Who looses the foe in his grip?" Their misunderstanding of this was their sole reason for going off, but they backed themselves on one or two other worse and weaker old cronish matters.[976] After doing in Ghaznī what has been mentioned, they drew off through the Hazāras to the Mughūl clans.[977] These clans at that time had left Nāṣir Mīrzā but had not joined the Aūzbeg, and were in Yāī, Astar-āb and the summer-pastures thereabouts.

(_i. Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā calls up help against Shaibāq Khān._)

Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā, having resolved to repel Shaibāq Khān, summoned all his sons; me too he summoned, sending to me Sayyid Afẓal, son of Sayyid `Alī _Khwāb-bīn_ (Seer-of-dreams). It was right on several grounds for us to start for Khurāsān. One ground was that when a great ruler, sitting, as Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā sat, in Tīmūr Beg's place, had resolved to act against [Sidenote: Fol. 163.] such a foe as Shaibāq Khān and had called up many men and had summoned his sons and his begs, if there were some who went on foot it was for us to go if on our heads! if some took the bludgeon, we would take the stone! A second ground was that, since Jahāngīr Mīrzā had gone to such lengths and had behaved so badly,[978] we had either to dispel his resentment or to repel his attack.

(_j. Chīn Ṣūfī's death._)

This year Shaibāq Khān took Khwārizm after besieging Chīn Sūfī in it for ten months. There had been a mass of fighting during the siege; many were the bold deeds done by the Khwārizmī braves; nothing soever did they leave undone. Again and again their shooting was such that their arrows pierced shield and cuirass, sometimes the two cuirasses.[979] For ten months they sustained that siege without hope in any quarter. A few bare braves then lost heart, entered into talk with the Aūzbeg and were in the act of letting him up into the fort when Chīn Ṣūfī had the news and went to the spot. Just as he was beating and forcing down the Aūzbegs, his own page, in a discharge of arrows, shot him from behind. No man was left to fight; the Aūzbegs took Khwārizm. God's mercy on Chīn Ṣūfī, who never for one moment ceased to stake his life [Sidenote: Fol. 163b.] for his chief![980]

Shaibāq Khān entrusted Khwārizm to Kūpuk (_sic_) Bī and went back to Samarkand.

(_k. Death of Sultān Ḥusain Mīrzā._)

Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā having led his army out against Shaibāq Khān as far as Bābā Ilāhī[981] went to God's mercy, in the month of Ẕū'l-ḥijja (Ẕū'l-ḥijja 11th 911 AH.-May 5th 1506 AD.).

SULT̤ĀN ḤUSAIN MĪRZĀ AND HIS COURT.[982]

(_a._) _His birth and descent._

He was born in Herī (Harāt), in (Muḥarram) 842 (AH.-June-July, 1438 AD.) in Shāhrukh Mīrzā's time[983] and was the son of Manṣūr Mīrzā, son of Bāī-qarā Mīrzā, son of `Umar Shaikh Mīrzā, son of Amīr Tīmūr. Manṣūr Mīrzā and Bāī-qarā Mīrzā never reigned.

His mother was Fīrūza Begīm, a (great-)grandchild (_nabīra_) of Tīmūr Beg; through her he became a grandchild of Mīrān-shāh also.[984] He was of high birth on both sides, a ruler of royal lineage.[985] Of the marriage (of Manṣūr with Fīrūza) were born two sons and two daughters, namely, Bāī-qarā Mīrzā and Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā, Ākā Begīm and another daughter, Badka Begīm whom Aḥmad Khān took.[986]

Bāī-qarā Mīrzā was older than Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā; he was his younger brother's retainer but used not to be present as head of the Court;[987] except in Court, he used to share his brother's divan (_tūshak_). He was given Balkh by his younger brother and was its Commandant for several years. He had three sons, Sl. Muḥammad Mīrzā, Sl. Wais Mīrzā and Sl. Iskandar Mīrzā.[988]

Ākā Begīm was older than the Mīrzā; she was taken by [Sidenote: Fol. 164.] Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā,[989] a grandson (_nabīra_) of Mīrān-shāh; by him she had a son (Muḥammad Sulṯān Mīrzā), known as Kīchīk (Little) Mīrzā, who at first was in his maternal-uncle's service, but later on gave up soldiering to occupy himself with letters. He is said to have become very learned and also to have taste in verse.[990] Here is a Persian quatrain of his:—

For long on a life of devotion I plumed me,
As one of the band of the abstinent ranged me;
Where when Love came was devotion? denial?
By the mercy of God it is I have proved me!

This quatrain recalls one by the Mullā.[991] Kīchīk Mīrzā made the circuit of the _ka'ba_ towards the end of his life.

Badka (Badī`u'l-jamāl) Begīm also was older[992] than the Mīrzā. She was given in the guerilla times to Aḥmad Khān of Ḥājī-tarkhān;[993] by him she had two sons (Sl. Maḥmūd Khān and Bahādur Sl.) who went to Herī and were in the Mīrzā's service.

(_b._) _His appearance and habits._

He was slant-eyed (_qīyik gūzlūq_) and lion-bodied, being slender from the waist downwards. Even when old and white-bearded, he wore silken garments of fine red and green. He used to wear either the black lambskin cap (_būrk_) or the _qālpāq_,[994] but on a Feast-day would sometimes set up a little three-fold turban, wound broad and badly,[995] stick a heron's plume in it and so go to Prayers.

When he first took Herī, he thought of reciting the names of [Sidenote: Fol. 164b.] the Twelve Imāms in the _khuṯba_,[996] but `Alī-sher Beg and others prevented it; thereafter all his important acts were done in accordance with orthodox law. He could not perform the Prayers on account of a trouble in the joints,[997] and he kept no fasts. He was lively and pleasant, rather immoderate in temper, and with words that matched his temper. He shewed great respect for the law in several weighty matters; he once surrendered to the Avengers of blood a son of his own who had killed a man, and had him taken to the Judgment-gate (_Dāru'l-qaẓā_). He was abstinent for six or seven years after he took the throne; later on he degraded himself to drink. During the almost 40 years of his rule[998] in Khurāsān, there may not have been one single day on which he did not drink after the Mid-day prayer; earlier than that however he did not drink. What happened with his sons, the soldiers and the town was that every-one pursued vice and pleasure to excess. Bold and daring he was! Time and again he got to work with his own sword, getting his own hand in wherever he arrayed to fight; no man of Tīmūr Beg's line has been known to match him in the slashing of swords. He had a leaning to poetry and even put a _dīwān_ together, writing in Turkī with Ḥusainī for his pen-name.[999] Many couplets in his _dīwān_ are not bad; it is however in one and the same metre throughout. Great ruler though he was, [Sidenote: Fol. 165.] both by the length of his reign (_yāsh_) and the breadth of his dominions, he yet, like little people kept fighting-rams, flew pigeons and fought cocks.

(_c._) _His wars and encounters._[1000]

He swam the Gurgān-water[1001] in his guerilla days and gave a party of Aūzbegs a good beating.

Again,—with 60 men he fell on 3000 under Pay-master Muḥammad `Alī, sent ahead by Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā, and gave them a downright good beating (868 AH.). This was his one fine, out-standing feat-of-arms.[1002]

Again,—he fought and beat Sl. Maḥmūd Mīrzā near Astarābād (865 AH.).[1003]

Again,—this also in Astarābād, he fought and beat Sa`īdlīq Sa`īd, son of Ḥusain _Turkmān_ (873 AH.?).

Again,—after taking the throne (of Herī in Ramẓān 873 AH.-March 1469 AD.), he fought and beat Yādgār-i-muḥammad Mīrzā at Chanārān (874 AH.).[1004]

Again,—coming swiftly[1005] from the Murgh-āb bridge-head (Sar-i-pul), he fell suddenly on Yādgār-i-muḥammad Mīrzā where he lay drunk in the Ravens'-garden (875 AH.), a victory which kept all Khurāsān quiet.

Again,—he fought and beat Sl. Maḥmūd Mīrzā at Chīkmān-sarāī in the neighbourhood of Andikhūd and Shibrghān (876 AH.).[1006]

Again,—he fell suddenly on Abā-bikr Mīrzā[1007] after that Mīrzā, joined by the Black-sheep Turkmāns, had come out of `Irāq, beaten Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā (_Kābulī_) in Takāna and Khimār (var. Ḥimār), taken Kābul, left it because of turmoil in `Irāq, crossed Khaibar, gone on to Khūsh-āb and Multān, on again to [Sidenote: Fol. 165b.] Sīwī,[1008] thence to Karmān and, unable to stay there, had entered the Khurāsān country (884 AH.).[1009]

Again,—he defeated his son Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā at Pul-i-chirāgh (902 AH.); he also defeated his sons Abū'l-muḥsin Mīrzā and Kūpuk (Round-shouldered) Mīrzā at Ḥalwā-spring (904 AH.).[1010]

Again,—he went to Qūndūz, laid siege to it, could not take it, and retired; he laid siege to Ḥiṣār, could not take that either, and rose from before it (901 AH.); he went into Ẕū'n-nūn's country, was given Bast by its _dārogha_, did no more and retired (903 AH.).[1011] A ruler so great and so brave, after resolving royally on these three movements, just retired with nothing done!

Again,—he fought his son Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā in the Nīshīn-meadow, who had come there with Ẕū'n-nūn's son, Shāh Beg (903 AH.). In that affair were these curious coincidences:—The Mīrzā's force will have been small, most of his men being in Astarābād; on the very day of the fight, one force rejoined him coming back from Astarābād, and Sl. Mas`ūd Mīrzā arrived to join Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā after letting Bāī-sunghar Mīrzā take Ḥiṣār, and Ḥaidar Mīrzā came back from reconnoitring Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā at Sabzawār.

(_d._) _His countries._

His country was Khurāsān, with Balkh to the east, Bistām and Damghān to the west, Khwārizm to the north, Qandahār [Sidenote: Fol. 166.] and Sīstān to the south. When he once had in his hands such a town as Herī, his only affair, by day and by night, was with comfort and pleasure; nor was there a man of his either who did not take his ease. It followed of course that, as he no longer tolerated the hardships and fatigue of conquest and soldiering, his retainers and his territories dwindled instead of increasing right down to the time of his departure.[1012]

(_e._) _His children._

Fourteen sons and eleven daughters were born to him.[1013] The oldest of all his children was Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā; (Bega Begīm) a daughter of Sl. Sanjar of Marv, was his mother.

Shāh-i-gharīb Mīrzā was another; he had a stoop (_būkūrī_); though ill to the eye, he was of good character; though weak of body, he was powerful of pen. He even put a _dīwān_ together, using Gharbatī (Lowliness) for his pen-name and writing both Turkī and Persian verse. Here is a couplet of his:—

Seeing a peri-face as I passed, I became its fool;
Not knowing what was its name, where was its home.

For a time he was his father's Governor in Herī. He died before his father, leaving no child.

Muz̤affar-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was another; he was his father's favourite son, but though this favourite, had neither accomplishments nor character. It was Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's over-fondness for this son that led his other sons into rebellion. The mother of Shāh-i-gharīb Mīrzā and of Muz̤affar-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was [Sidenote: Fol. 166b.] Khadīja Begīm, a former mistress of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā by whom she had had a daughter also, known as Āq (Fair) Begīm.

Two other sons were Abū'l-ḥusain Mīrzā and Kūpuk (var. Kīpik) Mīrzā whose name was Muḥammad Muḥsin Mīrzā; their mother was Laṯīf-sulṯān Āghācha.

Abū-turāb Mīrzā was another. From his early years he had an excellent reputation. When the news of his father's increased illness[1014] reached him and other news of other kinds also, he fled with his younger brother Muḥammad-i-ḥusain Mīrzā into `Irāq,[1015] and there abandoned soldiering to lead the darwish-life; nothing further has been heard about him.[1016] His son Sohrāb was in my service when I took Ḥiṣār after having beaten the sulṯāns led by Ḥamza Sl. and Mahdī Sl. (917 AH.-1511 AD.); he was blind of one eye and of wretchedly bad aspect; his disposition matched even his ill-looks. Owing to some immoderate act (_bī i`tidāl_), he could not stay with me, so went off. For some of his immoderate doings, Nijm S̤ānī put him to death near Astarābād.[1017]

Muḥammad-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was another. He must have been shut up (_bund_) with Shāh Ismā`īl at some place in `Irāq and have become his disciple;[1018] he became a rank heretic later on and became this although his father and brethren, older and younger, were all orthodox. He died in Astarābād, still on the same wrong road, still with the same absurd opinions. A good deal is heard about his courage and heroism, but no deed of his stands out as worthy of record. He may have been poetically-disposed; here is a couplet of his:—

Grimed with dust, from tracking what game dost thou come?
Steeped in sweat, from whose heart of flame dost thou come?

Farīdūn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was another. He drew a very strong [Sidenote: Fol. 167.] bow and shot a first-rate shaft; people say his cross-bow (_kamān-i-guroha_) may have been 40 _bātmāns_.[1019] He himself was very brave but he had no luck in war; he was beaten wherever he fought. He and his younger brother Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā were defeated at Rabāṯ-i-dūzd (var. Dudūr) by Tīmūr Sl. and `Ubaid Sl. leading Shaibāq Khān's advance (913 AH.?), but he had done good things there.[1020] In Dāmghān he and Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā[1021] fell into the hands of Shaibāq Khān who, killing neither, let both go free. Farīdūn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā went later on to Qalāt[1022] where Shāh Muḥammad _Diwāna_ had made himself fast; there when the Aūzbegs took the place, he was captured and killed. The three sons last-named were by Mīnglī Bībī Āghācha, Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's Aūzbeg mistress.

Ḥaidar Mīrzā was another; his mother Payānda-sulṯān Begīm was a daughter of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā. Ḥaidar Mīrzā was Governor of Balkh and Mashhad for some time during his father's life. For him his father, when besieging Ḥiṣār (901 AH.) took (Bega Begīm) a daughter of Sl. Maḥmūd Mīrzā and Khān-zāda Begīm; this done, he rose from before Ḥiṣār. One daughter only[1023] was born of that marriage; she was named Shād (Joy) Begīm and given to `Ādil Sl.[1024] when she came to Kābul later on. Ḥaidar Mīrzā departed from the world in his father's [Sidenote: Fol. 167b.] life-time.

Muḥammad Ma`ṣūm Mīrzā was another. He had Qandahār given to him and, as was fitting with this, a daughter of Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā, (Bega Begīm), was set aside for him; when she went to Herī (902 AH.), Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā made a splendid feast, setting up a great _chār-ṯāq_ for it.[1025] Though Qandahār was given to Muḥ. Ma`ṣūm Mīrzā, he had neither power nor influence there, since, if black were done, or if white were done, the act was Shāh Beg _Arghūn's_. On this account the Mīrzā left Qandahār and went into Khurāsān. He died before his father.

Farrukh-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was another. Brief life was granted to him; he bade farewell to the world before his younger brother Ibrāhīm-i-ḥusain Mīrzā.

Ibrāhīm-i-ḥusain Mīrzā was another. They say his disposition was not bad; he died before his father from bibbing and bibbing Herī wines.

Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā and Muḥ. Qāsim Mīrzā were others;[1026] their story will follow. Pāpā Āghācha was the mother of the five sons last-named.

Of all the Mīrzā's daughters, Sulṯānīm Begīm was the oldest. She had no brother or sister of the full-blood. Her mother, known as Chūlī (Desert) Begīm, was a daughter of one of the Aẕāq begs. Sulṯānīm Begīm had great acquaintance with words (_soz bīlūr aīdī_); she was never at fault for a word. Her father sent her out[1027] to Sl. Wais Mīrzā, the middle son of his own elder brother Bāī-qarā Mīrzā; she had a son and a daughter by him; the daughter was sent out to Aīsān-qulī Sl. younger brother of Yīlī-bārs of the Shabān sulṯāns;[1028] the son is that Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā to whom I have given the Qanauj district.[1029] At that same date Sulṯānīm Begīm, when on her way with her grandson [Sidenote: Fol. 168.] from Kābul to Hindūstān, went to God's mercy at Nīl-āb. Her various people turned back, taking her bones; her grandson came on.[1030]

Four daughters were by Payānda-sulṯān Begīm. Āq Begīm, the oldest, was sent out to Muḥammad Qāsim _Arlāt_, a grandson of Bega Begīm the younger sister of Bābur Mīrzā;[1031] there was one daughter (_bīr gīna qīz_), known as Qarā-gūz (Dark-eyed) Begīm, whom Nāṣir Mīrzā (_Mīrān-shāhī_) took. Kīchīk Begīm was the second; for her Sl. Mas`ūd Mīrzā had great desire but, try as he would, Payānda-sulṯān Begīm, having an aversion for him, would not give her to him;[1032] she sent Kīchīk Begīm out afterwards to Mullā Khwāja of the line of Sayyid Ātā.[1033] Her third and fourth daughters Bega Begīm and Āghā Begīm, she gave to Bābur Mīrzā and Murād Mīrzā the sons of her younger sister, Rābī`a-sulṯān Begīm.[1034]

Two other daughters of the Mīrzā were by Mīnglī Bībī Āghācha. They gave the elder one, Bairam-sulṯān Begīm to Sayyid `Abdu'l-lāh, one of the sayyids of Andikhūd who was a grandson of Bāī-qarā Mīrzā[1035] through a daughter. A son of this marriage, Sayyid Barka[1036] was in my service when Samarkand was taken (917 AH.-1511 AD.); he went to Aūrganj later and there made claim to rule; the Red-heads[1037] killed him in Astarābād. Mīnglī Bībī's second daughter was Fāṯima-sulṯān Begīm; her they gave to Yādgār(-i-farrukh) Mīrzā of Tīmūr Beg's line.[1038]

Three daughters[1039] were by Pāpā Āghācha. Of these the oldest, Sulṯān-nizhād Begīm was made to go out to Iskandar Mīrzā, youngest son of Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's elder brother Bāī-qarā Mīrzā. The second, (Sa`ādat-bakht, known as) Begīm Sulṯān, [Sidenote: Fol. 168b.] was given to Sl. Mas`ūd Mīrzā after his blinding.[1040] By Sl. Mas`ūd Mīrzā she had one daughter and one son. The daughter was brought up by Apāq Begīm of Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's _ḥaram_; from Herī she came to Kābul and was there given to Sayyid Mīrzā Apāq.[1041] (Sa`ādat-bakht) Begīm Sulṯān after the Aūzbeg killed her husband, set out for the _ka`ba_ with her son.[1042] News has just come (_circa_ 934 AH.) that they have been heard of as in Makka and that the boy is becoming a bit of a great personage.[1043] Pāpā Āghācha's third daughter was given to a sayyid of Andikhūd, generally known as Sayyid Mīrzā.[1044]

Another of the Mīrzā's daughters, `Āyisha-sulṯān Begīm, was by a mistress, Zubaida Āghācha the grand-daughter of Ḥusain-i-Shaikh Tīmūr.[1045] They gave her to Qāsim Sl. of the Shabān sulṯāns; she had by him a son, named Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sl. who came to serve me in Hindūstān, was in the Holy Battle with Rānā Sangā, and was given Badāyūn.[1046] When Qāsim Sl. died, (his widow) `Āyisha-sulṯān Begīm was taken by Būrān Sl. one of his relations,[1047] by whom she had a son, named `Abdu'l-lāh Sl. now serving me and though young, not doing badly.

(_f. His wives and concubines._)

The wife he first took was Bega Sulṯān Begīm, a daughter of Sl. Sanjar of Marv. She was the mother of Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā. She was very cross-tempered and made the Mīrzā endure much wretchedness, until driven at last to despair, he set himself [Sidenote: Fol. 169.] free by divorcing her. What was he to do? Right was with him.[1048]

A bad wife in a good man's house
Makes this world already his hell.[1049]

God preserve every Musalmān from this misfortune! Would that not a single cross or ill-tempered wife were left in the world!

Chūlī Begīm was another; she was a daughter of the Aẕāq begs and was the mother of Sulṯānīm Begīm.

Shahr-bānū Begīm was another; she was Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā's daughter, taken after Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā took the throne (873 AH.). When the Mīrzā's other ladies got out of their litters and mounted horses, at the battle of Chīkmān, Shahr-bānū Begīm, putting her trust in her younger brother (Sl. Maḥmūd M.), did not leave her litter, did not mount a horse;[1050] people told the Mīrzā of this, so he divorced her and took her younger sister Payānda-sulṯān Begīm. When the Aūzbegs took Khurāsān (913 AH.), Payānda-sulṯān Begīm went into `Irāq, and in `Irāq she died in great misery.

Khadīja Begīm was another.[1051] She had been a mistress of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā and by him had had a daughter, Āq Begīm; after his defeat (873 AH.-1468 AD.) she betook herself to Herī where Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā took her, made her a great favourite, and promoted her to the rank of Begīm. Very dominant indeed she became later on; she it was wrought Muḥ. Mūmin Mīrzā's death;[1052] she in chief it was caused Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's sons to rebel against him. She took herself for a sensible woman but was a silly chatterer, may also have been a heretic. Of her were [Sidenote: Fol. 169b.] born Shāh-i-gharīb Mīrzā and Muz̤affar-i-ḥusain Mīrzā.

Apāq Begīm was another;[1053] she had no children; that Pāpā Āghācha the Mīrzā made such a favourite of was her foster-sister. Being childless, Apāq Begīm brought up as her own the children of Pāpā Āghācha. She nursed the Mīrzā admirably when he was ill; none of his other wives could nurse as she did. The year I came into Hindūstān (932 AH.)[1054] she came into Kābul from Herī and I shewed her all the honour and respect I could. While I was besieging Chandīrī (934 AH.) news came that in Kābul she had fulfilled God's will.[1055]

One of the Mīrzā's mistresses was Laṯīf-sulṯān Āghācha of the Chār-shamba people[1056]; she became the mother of Abū'l-muḥsin Mīrzā and Kūpuk (or Kīpik) Mīrzā (_i.e._ Muḥammad Muḥsin).

Another mistress was Mīnglī Bībī Āghācha,[1057] an Aūzbeg and one of Shahr-bānū Begīm's various people. She became the mother of Abū-turāb Mīrzā, Muḥammad-i-ḥusain Mīrzā, Farīdūn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā and of two daughters.

Pāpā Āghācha, the foster-sister of Apāq Begīm was another mistress. The Mīrzā saw her, looked on her with favour, took her and, as has been mentioned, she became the mother of five of his sons and four of his daughters.[1058]

Begī Sulṯān Āghācha was another mistress; she had no child. There were also many concubines and mistresses held in little respect; those enumerated were the respected wives and mistresses of Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā.

Strange indeed it is that of the 14 sons born to a ruler so great as Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā, one governing too in such a town as Herī, three only were born in legal marriage.[1059] In him, in his sons, and in his tribes and hordes vice and debauchery were [Sidenote: Fol. 170.] extremely prevalent. What shews this point precisely is that of the many sons born to his dynasty not a sign or trace was left in seven or eight years, excepting only Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā.[1060]

(_g. His amīrs._)

There was Muḥammad Barandūq _Barlās_, descending from Chākū _Barlās_ as follows,—Muḥammad Barandūq, son of `Alī, son of Barandūq, son of Jahān-shāh, son of Chākū _Barlās_.[1061] He had been a beg of Bābur Mīrzā's presence; later on Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā favoured him, gave him Kābul conjointly with Jahāngīr _Barlās_, and made him Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā's guardian. After the death of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā, Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā formed designs against the two Barlās; they got to know this, kept tight hold of him, made the tribes and hordes march,[1062] moved as for Qūndūz, and when up on Hindū-kush, courteously compelled Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā to start back for Kābul, they themselves going on to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā in Khurāsān, who, in his turn, shewed them great favour. Muḥammad Barandūq was remarkably intelligent, a very leaderlike man indeed! He was extravagantly fond of a hawk; so much so, they say, that if a hawk of his had strayed or had died, he would ask, taking the names of his sons on his lips, what it would have mattered if such or such a son had died or had broken his neck, rather than this or that bird had died or had strayed.

Muz̤affar _Barlās_ was another.[1063] He had been with the Mīrzā in the guerilla fighting and, for some cause unknown, had received extreme favour. In such honour was he in those guerilla days that the compact was for the Mīrzā to take four _dāng_ (sixths) [Sidenote: Fol. 170b.] of any country conquered, and for him to take two _dāng_. A strange compact indeed! How could it be right to make even a faithful servant a co-partner in rule? Not even a younger brother or a son obtains such a pact; how then should a beg?[1064] When the Mīrzā had possession of the throne, he repented the compact, but his repentance was of no avail; that muddy-minded mannikin, favoured so much already, made growing assumption to rule. The Mīrzā acted without judgment; people say Muz̤affar _Barlās_ was poisoned in the end.[1065] God knows the truth!

`Alī-sher _Nawā'ī_ was another, the Mīrzā's friend rather than his beg. They had been learners together in childhood and even then are said to have been close friends. It is not known for what offence Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā drove `Alī-sher Beg from Herī; he then went to Samarkand where he was protected and supported by Aḥmad Ḥājī Beg during the several years of his stay.[1066] He was noted for refinement of manner; people fancied this due to the pride of high fortune but it may not have been so, it may have been innate, since it was equally noticeable also in Samarkand.[1067] `Alī-sher Beg had no match. For as long as verse has been written in the Turkī tongue, no-one has written so much or so well as he. He wrote six books of poems (mas̤nawī), five of them answering to the Quintet (_Khamsah_),[1068] the sixth, entitled the _Lisānu'ṯ-ṯair_ (Tongue of the birds), was in the same metre as the _Manṯiqu'ṯ-ṯair_ (Speech of the birds).[1069] He put together four _dīwāns_ (collections) of odes, bearing the names, _Curiosities of Childhood_, _Marvels of Youth_, _Wonders of Manhood_ and _Advantages of Age_.[1070] There are good quatrains of his also. Some others of his compositions rank below those [Sidenote: Fol. 171.] mentioned; amongst them is a collection of his letters, imitating that of Maulānā `Abdu'r-raḥmān _Jāmī_ and aiming at gathering together every letter on any topic he had ever written to any person. He wrote also the _Mīzānu'l-aūzān_ (Measure of measures) on prosody; it is very worthless; he has made mistake in it about the metres of four out of twenty-four quatrains, while about other measures he has made mistake such as any-one who has given attention to prosody, will understand. He put a Persian _dīwān_ together also, Fānī (transitory) being his pen-name for Persian verse.[1071] Some couplets in it are not bad but for the most part it is flat and poor. In music also he composed good things (_nīma_), some excellent airs and preludes (_nakhsh u peshrau_). No such patron and protector of men of parts and accomplishments is known, nor has one such been heard of as ever appearing. It was through his instruction and support that Master (Ustād) Qul-i-muḥammad the lutanist, Shaikhī the flautist, and Ḥusain the lutanist, famous performers all, rose to eminence and renown. It was through his effort and supervision that Master Bih-zād and Shāh Muz̤affar became so distinguished in painting. Few are heard of as having helped to lay the good foundation for future excellence he helped to lay. He had neither son nor daughter, wife or family; he let the world pass by, alone and unencumbered. At first he was Keeper of the Seal; in middle-life he became a beg and for a time was Commandant in Astarābād; later on he forsook soldiering. He took nothing from the Mīrzā, on the contrary, he each year [Sidenote: Fol. 171b.] offered considerable gifts. When the Mīrzā was returning from the Astarābād campaign, `Alī-sher Beg went out to give him meeting; they saw one another but before `Alī-sher Beg should have risen to leave, his condition became such that he could not rise. He was lifted up and carried away; the doctors could not tell what was wrong; he went to God's mercy next day,[1072] one of his own couplets suiting his case:—

I was felled by a stroke out of their ken and mine;
What, in such evils, can doctors avail?

Aḥmad the son of Tawakkal _Barlās_ was another;[1073] for a time he held Qandahār.

Walī Beg was another; he was of Ḥājī Saifu'd-dīn Beg's line,[1074] and had been one of the Mīrzā's father's (Manṣūr's) great begs.[1075] Short life was granted to him after the Mīrzā took the throne (973 AH.); he died directly afterwards. He was orthodox and made the Prayers, was rough (_turk_) and sincere.

Ḥusain of Shaikh Tīmūr was another; he had been favoured and raised to the rank of beg[1076] by Bābur Mīrzā.

Nuyān Beg was another. He was a Sayyid of Tīrmīẕ on his father's side; on his mother's he was related both to Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā and to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā.[1077] Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā had favoured him; he was the beg honoured in Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's presence and he met with very great favour when he went to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's. He was a bragging, easy-going, wine-bibbing, jolly person. Through being in his father's service,[1078] Ḥasan of Ya`qūb used to be called also Nuyān's Ḥasan.

Jahāngīr _Barlās_ was another.[1079] For a time he shared the Kābul command with Muḥammad Barandūq _Barlās_, later on [Sidenote: Fol. 172.] went to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's presence and received very great favour. His movements and poses (_ḥarakāt u sakanāt_) were graceful and charming; he was also a man of pleasant temper. As he knew the rules of hunting and hawking, in those matters the Mīrzā gave him chief charge. He was a favourite of Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā and, bearing that Mīrzā's friendliness in mind, used to praise him.

Mīrzā Aḥmad of `Alī _Farsī Barlās_ was another. Though he wrote no verse, he knew what was poetry. He was a gay-hearted, elegant person, one by himself.

`Abdu'l-khalīq Beg was another. Fīrūz Shāh, Shāhrukh Mīrzā's greatly favoured beg, was his grandfather;[1080] hence people called him Fīrūz Shāh's `Abdu'l-khalīq. He held Khwārizm for a time.

Ibrāhīm _Dūldāī_ was another. He had good knowledge of revenue matters and the conduct of public business; his work was that of a second Muḥ. Barandūq.

Ẕū'n-nūn _Arghūn_ was another.[1081] He was a brave man, using his sword well in Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā's presence and later on getting his hand into the work whatever the fight. As to his courage there was no question at all, but he was a bit of a fool. After he left our (_Mīrān-shāhī_) Mīrzās to go to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā, the Mīrzā gave him Ghūr and the Nikdīrīs. He did [Sidenote: Fol. 172b.] excellent work in those parts with 70 to 80 men, with so few beating masses and masses of Hazāras and Nikdīrīs; he had not his match for keeping those tribes in order. After a while Zamīn-dāwar was given to him. His son Shāh-i-shujā` _Arghūn_ used to move about with him and even in childhood used to chop away with his sword. The Mīrzā favoured Shāh-i-shujā` and, somewhat against Ẕū'n-nūn Beg's wishes, joined him with his father in the government of Qandahār. Later on this father and son made dissension between that father and that son,[1082] and stirred up much commotion. After I had overcome Khusrau Shāh and parted his retainers from him, and after I had taken Kābul from Ẕū'n-nūn _Arghūn_'s son Muqīm, Ẕū'n-nūn Beg and Khusrau Shāh both went, in their helplessness, to see Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā. Ẕū'n-nūn _Arghūn_ grew greater after the Mīrzā's death when they gave him the districts of the Herī Koh-dāman, such as Aūba (Ubeh) and Chachcharān.[1083] He was made Lord of Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā's Gate[1084] and Muḥammad Barandūq _Barlās_ Lord of Muz̤affar-i-ḥusain Mīrzā's, when the two Mīrzās became joint-rulers in Herī. Brave though he was, he was a little crazed and shallow-pated; if he had not been so, would he have accepted flattery as he did? would he have made himself so contemptible? Here are the details of the matter:—While he was so dominant and so trusted in Herī, a few shaikhs and mullās went to him and said, "The Spheres are holding commerce with us; you are to be styled _Hizabru'l-lāh_ (Lion of God); you will overcome the Aūzbeg." Fully accepting this flattery, he put his _fūṯa_ (bathing-cloth) round his neck[1085] and gave thanks. Then, after Shaibāq Khān, coming against the Mīrzās, had beaten them one [Sidenote: Fol. 173.] by one near Bādghīs, Ẕū'n-nūn _Arghūn_ met him face to face near Qarā-rabāṯ and, relying on that promise, stood up against him with 100 to 150 men. A mass of Aūzbegs came up, overcame them and hustled them off; he himself was taken and put to death.[1086] He was orthodox and no neglecter of the Prayers, indeed made the extra ones. He was mad for chess; he played it according to his own fancy and, if others play with one hand, he played with both.[1087] Avarice and stinginess ruled in his character.

Darwīsh-i-`alī Beg was another,[1088] the younger full-brother of `Alī-sher Beg. He had the Balkh Command for a time and there did good beg-like things, but he was a muddle-head and somewhat wanting in merit. He was dismissed from the Balkh Command because his muddle-headedness had hampered the Mīrzā in his first campaign against Qūndūz and Ḥiṣār. He came to my presence when I went to Qūndūz in 916 AH. (1510 AD.), brutalized and stupefied, far from capable begship and out-side peaceful home-life. Such favour as he had had, he appears to have had for `Alī-sher Beg's sake.

Mughūl Beg was another. He was Governor of Herī for a time, later on was given Astarābād, and from there fled to Ya`qūb Beg in `Irāq. He was of amorous disposition[1089] and an incessant dicer.

Sayyid Badr (Full-moon) was another, a very strong man, [Sidenote: Fol. 173b.] graceful in his movements and singularly well-mannered. He danced wonderfully well, doing one dance quite unique and seeming to be his own invention.[1090] His whole service was with the Mīrzā whose comrade he was in wine and social pleasure.

Islīm _Barlās_ was another, a plain (_turk_) person who understood hawking well and did some things to perfection. Drawing a bow of 30 to 40 _bātmāns_ strength,[1091] he would make his shaft pass right through the target (_takhta_). In the gallop from the head of the _qabaq-maidān_,[1092] he would loosen his bow, string it again, and then hit the gourd (_qabaq_). He would tie his string-grip (_zih-gīr_) to the one end of a string from 1 to 1-1/2 yards long, fasten the other end to a tree, let his shaft fly, and shoot through the string-grip while it revolved.[1093] Many such remarkable feats he did. He served the Mīrzā continuously and was at every social gathering.

Sl. Junaid _Barlās_ was another;[1094] in his latter days he went to Sl. Aḥmad Mīrzā's presence.[1095] He is the father of the Sl. Junaid _Barlās_ on whom at the present time[1096] the joint-government of Jaunpūr depends.

Shaikh Abū-sa`īd Khān _Dar-miyān_ (In-between) was another. It is not known whether he got the name of Dar-miyān because he took a horse to the Mīrzā _in the middle_ of a fight, or whether because he put himself _in between_ the Mīrzā and some-one designing on his life.[1097]

Bih-būd Beg was another. He had served in the pages' circle (_chuhra jīrgasī_) during the guerilla times and gave such [Sidenote: Fol. 174.] satisfaction by his service that the Mīrzā did him the favour of putting his name on the stamp (_tamghā_) and the coin (_sikka_).[1098]

Shaikhīm Beg was another.[1099] People used to call him Shaikhīm _Suhailī_ because Suhailī was his pen-name. He wrote all sorts of verse, bringing in terrifying words and mental images. Here is a couplet of his:—

In the anguish of my nights, the whirlpool of my sighs engulphs
the firmament;
Like a dragon, the torrent of my tears swallows the quarters of
the world.

Well-known it is that when he once recited that couplet in Maulānā `Abdu'r-raḥmān _Jāmī's_ presence, the honoured Mullā asked him whether he was reciting verse or frightening people. He put a _dīwān_ together; _mas̤nawīs_ of his are also in existence.

Muḥammad-i-walī Beg was another, the son of the Walī Beg already mentioned. Latterly he became one of the Mīrzā's great begs but, great beg though he was, he never neglected his service and used to recline (_yāstānīb_) day and night in the Gate. Through doing this, his free meals and open table were always set just outside the Gate. Quite certainly a man who was so constantly in waiting, _would_ receive the favour he received! It is an evil noticeable today that effort must be made before the man, dubbed Beg because he has five or six of the bald and blind at his back, can be got into the Gate at all! Where this sort of service is, it must be to their own misfortune! Muḥammad-i-walī Beg's public table and free meals were good; he kept his servants neat and well-dressed and with his own hands gave [Sidenote: Fol. 174b.] ample portion to the poor and destitute, but he was foul-mouthed and evil-spoken. He and also Darwīsh-i-`alī the librarian were in my service when I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (Oct. 1511 AD.); he was palsied then; his talk lacked salt; his former claim to favour was gone. His assiduous waiting appears to have been the cause of his promotion.

Bābā `Alī the Lord of the Gate was another. First, `Alī-sher Beg showed him favour; next, because of his courage, the Mīrzā took him into service, made him Lord of the Gate, and promoted him to be a beg. One of his sons is serving me now (_circa_ 934 AH.), that Yūnas of `Alī who is a beg, a confidant, and of my household. He will often be mentioned.[1100]

Badru'd-dīn (Full-moon of the Faith) was another. He had been in the service of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā's Chief Justice Mīrak `Abdu'r-raḥīm; it is said he was very nimble and sure-footed, a man who could leap over seven horses at once. He and Bābā `Alī were close companions.

Ḥasan of `Alī _Jalāīr_ was another. His original name was Ḥusain _Jalāīr_ but he came to be called `Alī's Ḥasan.[1101] His father `Alī _Jalāīr_ must have been favoured and made a beg by Bābur Mīrzā; no man was greater later on when Yādgār-i-muḥammad M. took Herī. Ḥasan-i-`alī was Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's _Qūsh-begī_.[1102] He made T̤ufailī (Uninvited-guest) his pen-name; wrote good odes and was the Master of this art in his day. He wrote odes on my name when he came to my presence at the time I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (1511 AD.). Impudent (_bī bāk_) and [Sidenote: Fol. 175.] prodigal he was, a keeper of catamites, a constant dicer and draught-player.

Khwāja `Abdu'l-lāh _Marwārīd_ (Pearl)[1103] was another; he was at first Chief Justice but later on became one of the Mīrzā's favourite household-begs. He was full of accomplishments; on the dulcimer he had no equal, and he invented the shake on the dulcimer; he wrote in several scripts, most beautifully in the _ta`līq_; he composed admirable letters, wrote good verse, with Bayānī for his pen-name, and was a pleasant companion. Compared with his other accomplishments, his verse ranks low, but he knew what was poetry. Vicious and shameless, he became the captive of a sinful disease through his vicious excesses, outlived his hands and feet, tasted the agonies of varied torture for several years, and departed from the world under that affliction.[1104]

Sayyid Muḥammad-i-aūrūs was another; he was the son of that Aūrūs (Russian?) _Arghūn_ who, when Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā took the throne, was his beg in chief authority. At that time there were excellent archer-braves; one of the most distinguished was Sayyid Muḥammad-i-aūrūs. His bow strong, his shaft long, he must have been a bold (_yūrak_) shot and a good one. He was Commandant in Andikhūd for some time.

Mir (Qaṃbar-i-)`alī the Master of the Horse was another. He it was who, by sending a man to Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā, brought him down on the defenceless Yādgār-i-muḥammad Mīrzā.