Muntakhab al-tawarikh 65.3
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 65.3
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65.3.1
Mirza ‘Askari just then arrived at the royal camp, and alighting and tearing the veil of humanity from the face of modesty, set about appropriating the valuables. He also placed Tardi Beg in rigorous confinement, and carried off the young Prince to Qandahar, and handed him over to Sultan Begam, his own wife, with injunctions to take every care for his kind treatment and protection. In that journey important events took place which, although they were fully and elaborately detailed in the original, do not admit of relation in this place, and must be rapidly passed over as he did that long stretch of road. These events took place in the year 950 H. (1543 A.D.). In short, leaving Sistan and journeying to the city of Khurasan, he had an interview with Sultan Muhammad Mirza, the elder son of Shah Tahmasp, who held the rule of that country under the tutelage of Muhammad Khan Taklu, and receiving all the necessaries of royalty, and requisites for his journey, with all honour and ceremony reached the sacred city of Mashhad (Meshed); and at each successive stage, by order of the Shah, the governors of the provinces hastened to welcome him, and made all preparations for entertaining him and shewing him hospitality, escorting him from stage to stage. Bairam Khan proceeded to do homage to the Shah, and brought with him thence a letter congratulating Humayun upon his arrival. The two monarchs met at Pulaq-Suriq and exchanged the customary honours and courtesies.
65.3.2
In the course of conversation the Shah asked what had led to his defeat, Humayun incautiously replied ‘The opposition of my brothers.’ Bahram Mirza, the brother of the Shah, who was present, was grieved at this speech, and from that day forth sowed the seeds of enmity against Humayun in his heart, and set himself to overthrow his enterprise, [nay more to overthrow Humayun himself as well], and impressed upon Shah Tahmasp, saying, “This is the son of that self-same father who taking so many thousand Qizilbash soldiers to reinforce his army, caused them to be trampled under foot by the Ozbaks, so that not one of them escaped alive.” This was a reference to that affair in which Babar Padshah took Najm-i-Awwal from Shah Isma'il with seventeen thousand Qizilbash cavalry, and led them as an auxiliary force against the Ozbaks, and at the time of the siege of the fortress of Nakhshab, otherwise known as Kash, (?) wrote the following verse upon an arrow and discharged it into the fort: I made Najm Shah to turn the Ozbaks from their path, If I did wrong, (at any rate) I cleared (my own) path. The following day when the two armies met he withdrew to one side, and the Qizilbash troops met with the treatment which was in store for them; that circumstance is notorious.
65.3.3
However, to return from this digression, Sultan Begum the sister of the Shah, whom he regarded as an adviser equal to the promised Mahdi, (who in the belief of the lies concealed in a subterranean dwelling in the city of Samarra, otherwise known by the name of Surra man ra'a, and when necessity arises will emerge from thence and inaugurate an era of equity), and with whose opinion and advice all the affairs of State were bound up, dissuaded him from that mistaken step, and by the use of rational argument brought him back to an attitude of kindness and manhood, and induced him to help and assist His Majesty wrote a (quatrain) of which the following is the last verse: All kings desire the shadow of the Huma, Behold! the Huma has sought thy shadow. On a certain occasion he interpolated this verse into a fragment from Salman, and sent it to the Shah. Verse. I hope that the Shah will out of kindness treat me, As ‘Ali treated Salman in the desert of Arzhan.
65.3.4
The Shah was extremely pleased, and after innumerable banquets and associations in travelling, and hunting expeditions, arranged all preparations on a scale of regal magnificence in Humayun’s honour, and took much trouble in giving his assent to the religious tenets of the Shi'ahs, and to that which the later writers of that persuasion say regarding the blessed companions of Muhammad, may God be pleased with them, and Humayun after much ado said “Bring them written upon a sheet of paper.” Accordingly they wrote down all their religious beliefs, and Humayun read them with a view to copying them, and gave precedence in the Khutbah, after the custom of ‘Iraq, to the recital of the twelve Imams. Shah Murad, the son of the Shah, an infant at the breast, with ten thousand cavalry under the command of Bidagh Khan Qizilbash Afshar, was nominated to reinforce Humayun, and it was determined that the Qizilbash should march by one route and Humayun by another, and that Humayun should, after gaining the victory, hand over Qandahar to Shah Murad Taking leave, and marching rapidly through Ardabil and Tabriz, (Humayun) again went to Mashhad the holy city, and succeeded in visiting the shrine of the fountain head of light.
65.3.5
At the time when one night he was walking alone in that sacred enclosure, one of the pilgrims said in a low voice to his fellow, “This is not Humayun Padshah.” The other replied “Yes it is.” Then coming close, he said in the ear of Humayun “So you are again laying claim to omnipotence.” This was a reference to the circumstance that Humayun used generally in Bangala to cast a veil over his crown, and when he removed it the people used to say, Light has shined forth! He also washed his sword in the river and said “Upon whom shall I gird the sword?” When he arrived at Agra he imposed upon the populace a new self-invented form of salutation, and wished them to kiss the ground (before him). At last Mir Abul Baqa with the Amirs and Vazirs paid the due respects, and the Amirs of the Qizilbash coming (by another road) arrived at Garmsir and took possession of the whole of that territory, and had encamped within view of Qandahar, when after five days Humayun arrived, and Mirza ‘Askari was besieged, and for three months continuously fighting was kept up, and a large number were daily killed on both sides. Thereupon Bairam Khan sent to Kabul as an ambassador to Mirza Kamran in whose behalf Mirza ‘Askari was acting, and Mirza Hindal and Mirza Sulaiman Badakhshi and Yadgar Nasir who had arrived from Bhakkar in a wretched plight; and [since] the idea of the Qizilbash was that no sooner would Humayun arrive than the Chaghtai would submit to him and would all come in.
65.3.6
This, however, did not happen, and the siege became very protracted, and a large number were killed. It was also currently reported that Mirza Kamran was coming to the assistance of Mirza ‘Askari, they accordingly lost heart and meditated a return to their own country. It so happened that just at that very time certain Amirs deserted from Mirza Kamran, namely, Muhammad Sultan Mirza, Ulugh Mirza, and Mirza Hasan Khan with other noted commanders, and offered their services to Humayun. Mu’yad Beg, who was a prisoner in the fortress of Qandahar, escaped from the fort and had an interview with him, meeting with very kind treatment. Mirza ‘Askari in his alarm, sued for quarter, and joined the ranks of Humayun’s followers; his faults were pardoned and he was distinguished by especial marks of favour. Verse. There is a sweetness in forgiveness which there is not in revenge. He also ordered the Amirs of Qizilbash that for the space of three days they should abstain from interference with the families of the Chaghatai tribe, and the inhabitants of the city, so as to allow of their all coming out, and although Humayun had no territory in his possession yet on account of the promise which had gone forth he brought Bidagh Khan and Mirza Murad into the fort and made over the whole of that country to them. Verse. If a man fulfils the obligation of his promise That man rises superior to any estimate you may form of him.
65.3.7
With the exception of Bidagh Khan and two or three other Amirs, no one remained in the service of Mirza Murad, while the remaining Amirs of the auxiliaries, all returned to ‘Iraq. Humayun was induced by the coming on of the winter winds, to ask Bidagh Khan to provide shelter for the followers of his army within the walls of the city, but that inhuman being invariably sent strangely rough answers. On this account some of the Chaghatai Amirs began to take to flight towards Kabul, among them was Mirza ‘Askari, who was seized on the way and brought to Humayun, who imprisoned him. Many stirring events happened in those days, which led to the delivery of Qandahar from the hands of the Qizilbash. First among these was this, that the Chaghatai Amirs urged upon Humayun the necessity of seizing Qandahar, on account of the coldness of the weather, saying that after the conquest of Kabul and Badakhshan he ought to bestow the greater portion of that place again upon the Qizilbash as compensation, so that due requital might be made them.