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Muntakhabu-t Tawáríkh of 'Abdu-l Kádir Badáúní (extracts) 3 - **Language:** English ### Salim Shah, son of Sher Shah Sur. ### [3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3.1) \[Text, vol. i. p. 384.\] Salim Shah, in the beginning of his reign, issued orders that as the sarais of Sher Shah were two miles distant from one another, one of similar form should be built between them for the convenience of the public; that a mosque and a reservoir should be attached to them, and that vessels of water and of victuals, cooked and uncooked, should be always kept in readiness for the entertainment of Hindu, as well as Muhammadan, travellers. In one of his orders he directed that all the madad-ma'ash and aima tenures in Hindustan which Sher Shah had granted, and all the sarais which he had built and the gardens he had laid out, should not be alienated, and that no change should be made in their limits. He took away from the nobles all the dancing girls maintained in their courts, according to the common practice of India. He also took from them all their elephants, and let none of them retain more than a sorry female, adapted only for carrying baggage. ### [3.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3.2) It was enacted that red tents should be in the exclusive use of the sovereign. He resumed, and placed under the immediate management of the State, the lands enjoyed by the troops, and established pecuniary payments in lieu, according to the rates fixed by Sher Shah. Circular orders were issued through the proper channels to every district, touching on matters religious, political and fiscal, in all their most minute bearings, and containing rules and regulations, which concerned not only the army, but cultivators, merchants, and persons of other professions, and which were to serve as guides to the officials of the State, whether they were in accordance with the Muhammadan law or not; — a measure which obviated the necessity of referring any of these matters to Kázis or Muftis. ### [3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.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. ### [3.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3.4) (God knows which year is correct) Khwaja Wais Sarwani, who was appointed to command the expedition against 'Azam Humayun, fought with the Niazis on the confines of Dhankot, and was defeated. 'Azam Humayun, flushed with this success, pursued the Khwaja as far as Sirhind. Salim Shah despatched a large force against the rebels, and a battle ensued at the same place, in which the Niazis were defeated. Some of their women who were made captives were sent prisoners to Gwalior, and Salim Shah violated their chastity. He distributed among the vagabonds of his camp the tents, standards, and other spoil of the Niazis which had fallen into his hands, bestowing upon them the titles which were common among the Niazis; such as Saiyid Khan, 'Azam Humayun, Shahbaz, etc. He granted them kettle-drums, which were beaten at their respective gates at the stated times. These low persons used to beat their drums aloud, and claim the dignity of the dogs of the celestial sphere. These people, in conformity with the practice of making rounds, which is occasionally observed among the prostitutes of India, went every Friday night to do homage to Salim Shah, instead of saying their prayers. On their arrival at the palace, the heralds exclaimed, "Oh king, be gracious enough to cast Your Majesty's eyes upon such and such Niazi Khans, who have come to offer up prayers for your health and welfare." This proceeding exceedingly disgusted the Afghans, who were of the same tribe as the King. ### [3.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3.5) The Niazi titles, and the standards and drums, which were granted to them by Salim Shah, are said by some historians to have been bestowed on them after the first battle. God knows whether this is correct or not. 'Azam Humayun, who was defeated in the last battle, was never able again to take the field. The ranks of the Niazis began to be thinned day by day, and they soon dispersed. In the first instance they took refuge with the Ghakars, in the neighbourhood of Rohtas, and then settled themselves in the hills in the vicinity of Kashmir. Salim Shah, with the view of suppressing for the future the disturbances excited by these insurgents, moved with an overwhelming force, and took up a strong position in the hills to the north of the Panjab, where, for the purpose of establishing posts, he built five fortresses, called Minkot, Rashidkot, etc. As he had no friendly disposition towards the Afghans, he forced them, for a period of two years, to bring stones and lime for the building of those fortresses, without paying them a single fulus, or jital. Those who were exempted from this labour were employed against the Ghakars, who resisted strenuously, and with whom they had skirmishes every day. At night the Ghakars prowled about like thieves, and carried away whomsoever they could lay hands on, without distinction of sex and rank, put them in the most rigorous confinement, and then sold them into slavery. ### [3.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3.6) These circumstances sorely afflicted the Afghans, who felt that they were exposed to every kind of insult, but it was not in the power of any individual to lay their grievances before Salim Shah; until one day, when Shah Muhammad Farmuli, a noble noted for his hilarity and jocular speeches, who was a special companion of the King, took heart and exclaimed, "O my liege! two nights I dreamt that three bags descended from heaven; one containing ashes; another, gold; and the third, papers; the ashes fell upon the heads of the troops; the gold upon the houses of Hindus; and the papers fell to the lot of the royal treasury." Salim Shah did not take the allusion ill, and it had the effect of inducing him to promise that he would, on his return to Gwalior, order his accountants to disburse two years' pay to the troops, but his death, which occurred soon afterwards, prevented the fulfilment of this promise. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-elliot.3) · Pramāṇa