Majálisu-s Salátín, of Muhammad Sharíf Hanafí (Elliot & Dowson, extracts)
Translation of Majalis al-salatin (Majālis al-salāṭīn)
- Language
- English
- Date
- 1877 CE
- Translators
- Henry Miers Elliot, John Dowson
- Extent
- 4 passages, 1,503 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- archive.org · The History of India, as told by its own Historians. The Muhammadan Period. The posthumous papers of Sir H.… · Public domain (published before 1930)
Contents
- 1 Anecdotes of Muhammad Tughlik.
- 2 Accession of Shah Jahan.
- 3 Revenues of Hindustan and the Dakhin.
- 4 The Author's Travels.
Text
1
After some time, intelligence was brought that Malik Bahram Abiya, the adopted brother of Sultan Tughlik Shah, had revolted in Multan, and put 'Ali Akhti to death, whom Sultan Muhammad 'Adil had sent with orders to summon the rebel. The Sultan, with a view to subdue the rebellion, marched from Daulatabad towards Dehli, and thence reached Multan by successive marches. Malik Bahram came out to oppose him, but was defeated and slain. His head was brought to the Sultan, who was about to order a general massacre of the inhabitants of Multan, and make streams of blood flow, when the staff of the world, the most religious Shaikhu-l Hakk, came bare-headed to the King's court, and stood before him soliciting pardon for the people. The Sultan forgave them for the sake of that holy man. In short, this King called himself just, and generally before executing persons he certainly did refer the case for the decree of the expounders of the law.
It is said of him, that one day, having put on his shoes, he went on foot to the court of Kazi Kamalu-d din, the Chief Justice, and told him that Shaikh-zada Jam had called him unjust; he demanded that he should be summoned and required to prove the injustice of which he accused him, and that if he could not prove it, he should be punished according to the injunctions of the law. Shaikh-zada Jam, when he arrived, confessed that he had made the assertion. The Sultan inquired his reason, to which he replied, "When a criminal is brought before you, it is entirely at your royal option to punish him, justly or unjustly; but you go further than this, and give his wife and children to the executioners that they may do what they like with them. In what religion is this practice lawful? If this is not injustice, what is it?" The Sultan remained silent; and when he left the court of the Kazi, he ordered the Shaikh-zada to be imprisoned in an iron cage, and on his journey to Daulatabad he took the prisoner with him on the back of an elephant. When he returned to Dehli, on passing before the court of the Kazi, he ordered the Shaikh-zada to be brought out of the cage and cut to pieces. Hence it may be learnt that he possessed very opposite qualities. He was called by the common people "the unjust." There are many similar stories of the atrocities he committed. Tyranny took the place of justice, and infidelity that of Islam. At last he was seized with fever, and departed to the next world, when he was in the vicinity of Thatta, on the 21st Muharram, a.h. 752 (20th March, 1351 a.d.). The period of his reign was twenty-seven years.
2
When Nuru-d din Muhammad Jahangir died, the second Lord of the Conjunction, the rightful heir, Shah Khurram, who was entitled Shah Jahan, was in the Dakhin at a distance of three months' journey from the place where the Emperor Jahangir had died. It is well known to politicians that the throne of royalty cannot remain vacant for a moment, and therefore the ministers of the government and the principal officers of the Court considered it expedient to place Sultan Dawar Bakhsh, the grandson of the Emperor Jahangir, upon the throne for some days; and thus to guard against mutinies and disturbances which might otherwise arise. They defeated Shahriyar, who, through his vain ambition, had proclaimed himself King in Lahore. The Emperor Shahabu-d din Muhammad Shah Jahan (may his dominions and reign increase, and may the world be benefited by his bounty and munificence!) also came with a powerful army via Gujarat and Ajmir, and soon arrived at Agra, which was the seat of his and his forefathers' government. He mounted the throne of sovereignty in the fort of Agra on Monday the 7th of Jumada-l Akhir, corresponding with the 25th of Bahman; and distributed largesses and rewards among his subjects. May the Almighty keep this generous and world-conquering King under His protection and care!
3
It also entered into the mind of this "most humble slave of God" to write a short account of the different provinces of Hindustan, and make it a portion of this small work, detailing how much of this country was in possession of the Emperor Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar and his son Nuru-d din Jahangir, and into how many subas it is now divided.
Be it not concealed that the whole country of Hindustan, which is known to form one-fourth of the inhabited world, and reckoned as the largest of all the countries, is divided into fourteen sūbas, or provinces.
First, the Province of Dehli; revenue upwards of 65,61,00,000 dams. Second, the Province of Āgra, which is the seat of government; revenue 82,25,00,000 dams. Third, the Province of the Panjāb, or Lahore; present revenue, 82,50,00,000 dams. Fourth, the Province of Kābul, including Kashmīr, etc.; revenue 25,00,00,000 dams. Fifth, the Province of the Dakhin, or Ahmadnagar; revenue 28,35,00,000 dams. Sixth, the Province of Khāndesh and Birār; revenue 87,32,00,000 dams. Seventh, the Province of Mālwa; revenue 28,00,00,000 dams. Eighth, the Province of Gujarāt; revenue 50,64,00,000 dams. Ninth, the Province of Bihār, including Patnā and Jaunpūr; revenue 31,27,00,000 dams. Tenth, the Province of Oudh with its dependencies; revenue 23,22,00,000 dams. Eleventh, the Province of Ajmīr with its dependencies; revenue 42,05,00,000 dams. Twelfth, the Province of Allahābād; revenue 30,70,00,000 dams. Thirteenth, the Province of Sind, including Multān, Thatta and Bhakkar; revenue 40,00,00,000 dams. Fourteenth, the Province of Bengal, which is equal to two or three kingdoms; revenue 50,00,00,000 dams.
The revenue of all the territories under the Emperors of Dehli amounts, according to the Royal registers, to six arbs and thirty krors of dams. One arb is equal to a hundred krors (a kror being ten millions), and a hundred krors of dams are equivalent to two krors and fifty lacs of rupees. Each of the fourteen provinces above mentioned formed the territory of a powerful king, and was conquered by the sword of the servants of the Chaghatāīs. Nine of these fourteen provinces have been visited by the poor compiler of this book, and the following is a detail of them.
4
He was born in the province of the Dakhin, and lived five years there. Though it is mentioned as one province, yet the whole territory of the Dakhin, through which he travelled with his father, consists of five provinces. Ahmadnagar is one province, Bijapur is another, Golkonda is a third ; the Karnatik, which is a large territory extending as far as Setband Rameshwar, forms a separate province. Khandesh and Birar, which are in reality two provinces, though rated above only as one, were visited throughout every space of their whole extent by the writer, who has also travelled over the provinces of Gujarat, Malwa, Ajmir, Dehli, and Agra, as well as those of the Panjab or Lahore, and Sind, which includes Thatta, Bhakkar and Multan. By the favour of God, he possessed authority in all these provinces, and visited them as a person of consideration. If he were to note down the wonders and curiosities of all the places he has seen, he would require to blacken paper equal to one thousand volumes. He has therefore avoided enlarging his work.
He may, however, as well mention, that when in the territory of the Karnatik, he arrived in company with his father at the city of Southern Mathura (Madura), where, after a few days, the ruler died and went to the lowest hell. This chief had 700 wives, and they all threw themselves at the same time into the fire. This event was related by the compiler of this book at Burhanpur, in the presence of the Nawab Khan-khanan, son of Bairam Khan; but the Nawab did not believe it. The vakil of the Raja of the Karnatik, whose name was Kaner Rai, was also present at the court of the Nawab ; and when inquiries were made of him respecting the truth of my assertion, he related the event exactly as the writer had done. So the Nawab entered it in his note-book.
All the people of this territory are idolaters, and eat all the wild animals of the forest. There is not a single Musulman there. Occasionally a Musulman may visit the country, deputed by Nizam Shah, 'Adil Shah or Kutb Shah, but the natives are all infidels. The Madari malangs and jogis go by this road to Sarandip and the hill-fort of Ceylon, which is the place where the impression of Adam's footstep is preserved.
In A.H. 1031 the writer of this book visited the delightful land of Kashmir, when he accompanied the victorious camp of the Emperor who had an army as numerous as the stars, viz. Nuru-d din Muhammad Jahangir, and was in the immediate service of the most exalted and noble Nawab, the Great Khan, the best of all the descendants of the chosen prophet, the chief of the house of 'Ali, a nobleman of high rank and dignity, viz. Kasim Khan, may God preserve him !