Muntakhab al-tawarikh 78.13.1

78.13.1

The Emperor ordered Sabats and trenches to be constructed, and gradually brought close to the walls of the fortress. The width of the Sabat was such that ten horsemen could easily ride abreast in it, and its height was so great that a man on an elephant with spear in hand could pass under it. Many of the men of our army were killed by musket and cannon balls, and the bodies of the dead were made use of instead of bricks and stones. After a length of time the Sabat and trenches were brought up to the foot of the fortress, and they undermined two towers which were close together, and filled the mines with gunpowder. A party of men of well-known bravery fully armed and accoutred approached the towers, and waited till the towers should fall, and then they would enter the fortress. By accident, though the two mines were fired at one and the same moment, the fuze of one, which was shorter than the other took effect soonest, and the fuze of the latter, which was longer, hung fire, so that one of the two towers was blown up from its foundations and heaved into the air, and a great breach was made in the castle. Then the forlorn hope in their impetuosity forgetting the second mine stormed the breach at once, and soon effected a lodging. While the hand-to-hand struggle was going on, suddenly the second fuze went off and blew the other tower, which was full, both of friends and foes, from its place and lifted it into the air.