Muntakhab al-tawarikh 3.3

3.3

In order that these circular instructions might be fully comprehended, the nobles in command of five, ten or twenty thousand horse, were ordered to assemble every Friday in a large tent, within which was placed, on an elevated chair, a pair of Salim Shah's slippers, and a quiver full of arrows. They then bowed down before the chair, one by one, according to their respective ranks; first of all the officer in command of the troops, and then the munsif, or amin, and so on; after which, with due respect and obeisance, they took their respective seats, when a secretary coming forward read to them the whole of the circular instructions above referred to, which filled about eighty sheets of paper. Every difficult point then at issue within the province was decided according to their purport. If any of the nobles committed an act in contravention of these orders, it was reported to the King, who forthwith passed orders directing proper punishment to be inflicted on the offender, as well as on his family. These rules were in force till the end of the reign of Salim Shah, and the compiler of this history witnessed the scene above described, when he was of tender age, that is, in the year 965 A.H., when he accompanied his maternal grandfather (may God extend his grace to him!) to the camp of Farid Taran, commander of 5000 horse, which was then pitched in the district of Bajwara, a dependency of Bayana. In the year 954 or 955 A.H.