The Rashīdī History 140: CHAPTER XXIX.
The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Elias, Ross) 140
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CHAPTER XXIX.
140.1
UBAID ULLAH KHAN MARCHES FROM TURKISTAN AGAINST BOKHARA. IS MET AT KUL MALIK BY BABAR PADISHAH. A BATTLE TAKES PLACE, IN WHICH THE LATTER IS DEFEATED. EVENTS THAT ENSUED. When the Emperor, in Rajab of the year 917, mounted the throne of Samarkand, as has been stated above, the learned men and nobles of Mavara-un-Nahr were indignant at his attachment to Shah Ismail and at his adoption of the Turkoman style of dress. When that winter had passed and spring had set in (the plentiful drops of her rain having clothed the earth in green raiment) the Uzbeg advanced out of Turkistan. Their main body marched against Tashkand, while Ubaid Ullah went to Bokhara by way of Yati Kuduk. As the citadel of Tashkand had been fortified by Amir Ahmad Kasim Kuhbur, [the Emperor] sent him some reinforcements, under the command of such men as Amir Dust Nasir, Sultan Muhammad Duldai, and others, while he himself [the Emperor] advanced on Bokhara. When he neared the town, news of his approach reached Ubaid Ullah Khan, who [becoming alarmed] immediately drew his bridle and returned along the road by which he had just come. The Emperor pursued him, overtook him at Kul Malik, and compelled him to retreat. Ubaid Ullah Khan had 3000 men with him, while the Emperor had 40,000. Ubaid Ullah Khan having repeated to the end of the verse : "And how often has not a small force defeated a large one, by the permission of God?" [faced the Emperor], and a fierce battle began to rage.
140.2
God, the most high, has shown to the peoples of the earth, and especially to kings and rulers, that no boast is to be made of, no reliance to be placed in, the numbers of an army nor their equipment; for He in His might gives victory to whomsoever He will. Thus Ubaid Ullah Khan, with 3000 shattered [Turki] men, who eight months previously had retreated before this same force, now entirely defeated an army of 40,000, perfectly equipped and mounted on fine horses [tupchak]. This event occurred in Safar of the year 918. The Emperor had reigned eight months in Samarkand. When the Emperor returned to Samarkand, he was unable to get a firm footing upon the steps of the throne, and so bidding farewell to the sovereignty of Samarkand, he hastened to Hisar. He sent one ambassador after another to Shah Ismail, to inform him of what had passed, and to beg for succour. Shah Ismail granted his request, and sent Mir Najm, his commander-in-chief, with 60,000 men, to his aid. Thus at the beginning of the winter succeeding that spring, [the allies] once more marched against the Uzbeg. On reaching Karshi, they found that Shaikham Mirza, the uncle of Ubaid Ullah Khan, had strengthened the fort of Karshi. They, therefore, began by laying siege to the fort, which they quickly reduced. Then they put to death Shaikham Mirza, and massacred the whole of the people of the fort, killing both high and low—the sucklings and the decrepit.
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Of the Uzbeg Sultans, each one had fortified himself in his own castle. Thus Jani Beg Sultan had stood on the defensive in the fort of Ghajdavan. When the Turkomans had finished with Karshi, they asked the Emperor about the condition of all the fortified cities of Mavara-un-Nahr, and he described them one by one. It appeared that the easiest of all to take was that of Ghajdavan; towards it, therefore, they marched. The Uzbeg Sultans heard of their coming, and entered the fort on the same night that the Turkomans and the Emperor, who were encamped before the place, were busy preparing their siege implements. At dawn they arranged their forces in the midst of the suburbs, and stood facing [the enemy]. On the other side, too, preparations were made for a fight. Since the Uzbeg were in the midst of the suburbs, the field of battle was narrow. The Uzbeg infantry began to pour forth their arrows from every corner, so that very soon the claws of Islam twisted the hands of heresy and unbelief and victory declared for the true faith. The victorious breezes of Islam overturned the banners of the schismatics. [The Turkomans] were so completely routed, that most of them perished on the field; all the rents that had been made by the swords at Karshi, were now sewn up with the arrow stitches of vengeance. They sent Mir Najm and all the Turkoman Amirs to hell. The Emperor retired, broken and crestfallen, to Hisar.
140.4
And now a difference arose between the Emperor and those Moghul Amirs who, when the Khan went [to Andijan], had stayed behind and entered the Emperor's service. To make a long story short, one night, Ayub Begjik, Mir Muhammad, Yadgar Mirza and Nazar Mirza, in company with the rest of the Moghuls, fell upon the Emperor so unexpectedly that he was with difficulty able to escape, naked, into the castle of Hisar; while [the conspirators] having plundered all they could find outside [the fort], marched away towards the mountains of Karatigin. The Emperor was powerless to oppose them: having left several of his trusted Amirs to defend the castle of Hisar, he himself proceeded to Kunduz. The whole province of Hisar, except the fort, fell into the hands of the Moghuls. The Moghuls have a proverb which runs; when a place is left unoccupied, the pigs will mount to the top of the hillock. . . . They withdrew the hand of tyranny and oppression from the sleeve of violence and enmity, and seized upon the households, families, possessions and cattle of all the people. One of the most distinguished of those Moghuls, who was in my service [at one time], used to relate: "They once [by way of paying my allowance] gave me an assignment [barat] for obtaining provisions, which was addressed to one of the inferior officials at Yaklish. I alighted at his house and showed him my assignment. He pondered for a while;
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then he came out and displayed before my view about 200 horses, and a proportionate number of sheep, camels, slaves, household furniture, clothes and [various] materials, saying: 'I entreat you to let me and my children and wives go with the clothes we have on, while you take possession of all that is here, and release me from the balance of the sum that is mentioned in the order.' When I had reckoned up the value of the cattle and property, though it came to a considerable sum, it was only half of that entered in the assignment." This story shows what degree of tyranny, violence and oppression they had begun to practise. Whatever property or flocks they found among the people of Hisar, they extorted from the owners, whom they ruined with waste and extravagance. There ensued a terrible famine among the Musulmans, and in the whole town of Hisar [only] sixty persons survived. The living eat the dead, and when these had died in such a condition that no nourishment was left in their flesh, the living fell upon one another. The end of these odious and revolting scenes was, that out of those thirty or forty thousand people, only about two thousand escaped, leaving their property behind; the rest were all engulfed in the ocean of violence, or annihilated with the sword of vengeance. The women and children were led away captive by the Uzbeg, and bear the burden of the ignominy to this day.
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To add to all this distress and suffering, that winter there was such a prolonged and incessant snowfall, that the plains became like hills and the hills like plains. But as for that abominable race [the Uzbeg], as their tyranny and cruelty increased, so did their prosperity decrease. They, also, began to suffer from want of grain; and as the fodder all lay buried under the snow in the plains, they had nothing to give their horses; nor could they find any corn for themselves. Thus were these cursed people likewise reduced to great distress, and became impotent.
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When news of their helpless condition reached Ubaid Ullah Khan, most of whose efforts were guided [at least] by good intentions, he felt it his bounden duty, both from a desire to restore order in the country, and also from a sense of right and justice, to go and expel these evil doers. At the end of the winter, therefore, he set out for Hisar. When [the Moghuls] heard of the approach of the Uzbeg, they knew not which way to turn, for they had themselves darkened their road to the Emperor; nor did they think fit to go to the Khan in Andijan, because whenever they might enter the Khan's service, they would be obliged to do some work which they considered beneath their dignity: the hands of their tyranny would be cut off and the feet of their insubordination crushed. On this account they abhorred the idea of going to the court of the Khán. Moreover, the roads were rendered impassable by the snow. For these several reasons, they took up a strong position in the mountains of the Surkháb and of Yakhsh. On one side it was protected by the River Surkháb, on two others by the mountains, while on the remaining side was deep snow, on which they placed much reliance.
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When the Uzbeg drew near, they reconnoitred on all sides and found the enemy well fortified. As the Ustád says: "Life is like snow under the summer sun." The snow on the one flank, on which they had put reliance, thawed a few days later, and left a very broad way through the defile. This wide passage caused joy to [the Uzbeg] and depression to those wicked [Moghuls]. One morning the Uzbeg charged down upon [the Moghuls], who, when they saw them coming, threw themselves into the water . . . (Couplet) . . . Most of those wretches passed through the water to the flames of hell, some few escaped; and all those who had not reached the river, went to hell by way of the flashing scimitar. Those that survived were taken prisoners, and all the suffering that they had inflicted on the people in Hisár during a year, God Almighty now caused, by the hand of Ubaid Ullah Khán, to descend upon them in one hour . . . (Couplets) . . . All those that escaped the Hisár river and the glittering sword, went to the Khán in Andiján, in the condition that has been described, or rather, their condition would not be possible to describe.
140.9
I have heard Mir Ayub relate: "Often, when I experienced ill-treatment from the Moghuls, and witnessed their dealings with the people [in Hisár], I have prayed to God to hasten to send down calamity upon them, that true Musulmáns might thereby be delivered." The moral to be drawn from this story is that one should shun cruelty, which embitters life and destroys happiness: one should practise justice, which strengthens prosperity and sweetens life. "Divine aid is a precious thing, and is only given to the faithful servant." In short, through the villany of that tribe [the Moghuls], Hisár fell from the hands of the Emperor, and came under the domination of the Uzbeg. So long as the Emperor entertained any hopes [of recovering Hisár], he remained in Kunduz, though exposed to the greatest distress and want. Mirzá Khán possessed that country, but in spite of his entire subordination [to the Emperor], he was not able to give up his own country to oblige him. The Emperor, with his accustomed courtesy, bore the situation patiently, and made no attempt to deprive Mirzá Khán of his dominions. At last, despairing altogether of recovering Hisár, he returned to Kábul.
140.10
'When he conquered Mavara-un-Nahr, he left Sultan Nasir Mirza upon the throne of Kabul. On learning the Emperors approach, Sultan Nasir Mirza came out to receive him, with protestations of devotion and respect, saying: "When you withdrew your foot from the throne of the glorious kingdom of Kabul, you entrusted the high honour of government to me. And I have guarded this imperial treasure for you until, through the changes of fortune and the revolving of the spheres, you have again come to place your noble foot upon the steps of the throne. I would now crave your permission to be allowed to return to my former government of Ghazna, and would be most grateful if a few Amirs, of whom I stand in need, were appointed to my service." This devotion on the part of Sultan Nasir Mirza made a deep impression on the mind of the Emperor, who showed his gratitude by many favours, and allowed him to return to Ghazna, where Sultan Nasir Mirza died soon after [dar hamān ayyām]. Whereupon grave disputes arose among the Amirs in Ghazna, which shall be spoken of in their proper place. The Emperor remained in Kabul until the conquest of Kandahar; after that he conquered Hindustan, which shall likewise be mentioned in its right place.