The Rashīdī History 233: THE DEATH OF THE KHAN AND AN EPITOME OF HIS LIFE.
The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Elias, Ross) 233
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THE DEATH OF THE KHAN AND AN EPITOME OF HIS LIFE.
233.1
In short the Khan, having finally arranged the above-mentioned affairs, set out from Maryul in Tibet, for Yarkand. I attended him on his first stage, and then, with evil forebodings, took a touching and melancholy leave of him. [Two couplets].... Four days later I received a letter in the Khan's own handwriting, stating that he had crossed the pass of Sakri, and that the feelings of weakness which he apprehended, had not come over him. He had reached Nubra in safety and was camped there, intending to proceed towards Yarkand after the festival of the Sacrifice. [Turkish quatrain.] The last letter sent me from the Khan's [camp] was to the following effect: — Having celebrated the Festival of the Sacrifice, they set forth on their homeward road with all speed. When they had crossed the ice passes a grave change for the worse took place in the Khan's condition, from the effects of that hell-tainted air. From that place to a region where there was no dam-giri was eight days' journey. (I have already explained the symptoms of this malady, in my account of Tibet.) All the Amirs were agreed that both hurry and delay were to be feared. Still, they considered that a place where there was no dam-giri should be reached as quickly as possible, hoping that the Khan's natural strength would enable him to combat the violence of the malady, until such a spot should be attained. If they delayed any longer in a neighbourhood where dam-giri prevailed, his strength might not hold out. [Couplet] .
233.2
. . But the ill-advised nobles, foremost among whom was Mirza Ali Taghái, mounted the Khan, in his weak condition, upon his horse, and then started with all speed, supporting him on every side. As it is dangerous [with this malady] to remain in an upright position, it would have been proper to construct a litter. But these Amirs excused themselves for not making one, on the ground that it could not be carried over the passes. [Verse]. . . . They made eight days' journey in four, and at eventide prayers they arrived within three farsakhs of a stage where dam-giri is less prevalent. There, suddenly, the Khan's strength gave way before the violence of his malady, and his nature became utterly exhausted by that hell-tainted climate. Thus did the pure soul of that noble-minded and just ruler hasten to the regions of the blessed. [Three couplets]. . . . This awful and heartrending event happened on the 16th of Zulhijja in the year 939 [9 July, 1533]. After this calamity many terrible and strange things came about, of which I shall speak presently.
233.3
The life of the Khan, his noble character and worthy qualities have already been fully described in these pages: but although an account of the whole of his life is contained in this history, the context has rendered it necessary to give the facts in a somewhat disjointed and scattered manner. I will therefore add here a brief recapitulation. His genealogy is as follows: Abul Fath Sultan Said Khan Ghazi, was son of Sultan Ahmad Khan, son of Yunus Khan, son of Shir Ali Khan, son of Muhammad Khan, son of Khizir Khwaja Khan, son of Tughluk Timur Khan. The descent of Tughluk Timur Khan from Japhet, the son of Noah, is traced in both the Mujma ut Tavarikh and in the Prolegomena to the Zafar-Nama, and God willing, the details shall be given in the first part [of this history] ; I will therefore avoid repeating it [in this place].
233.4
He was born in Moghulistan in the year 892 [1487]. He received his name from his distinguished grandfather, Yunus Khan. Up to the age of fourteen he remained in Moghulistan, under the care and guidance of his father. But when Sultan Ahmad Khan went to Tashkand to meet his brother Sultan Mahmud Khan, he took the [young] Khan with him. On the occasion when the battle took place between Shahi Beg Khan and the two brothers, at Akhsi, in which the Khans were defeated, the [young] Khan being wounded, fell into the hands of Shaikh Bayazid, who was Governor of Akhsi. As was shown above, there was but an insincere alliance between Shaikh Bayazid and Shahi Beg Khan. [Shaikh Bayazid] detained the Khan in prison one year, but the following year Shahi Beg Khan came and put Shaikh Bayazid, and his brother Tambal, to death, and conquered the province of Farghana. He next released the Khan from his confinement in Akhsi, and took him with him on the expedition which resulted in the capture of Hisar and Kunduz. On his return from that expedition, [Shahi Beg] set out to attack the Khwarizm.
233.5
The Khan, who was then sixteen years of age, having, together with seventeen other persons, escaped from Samarkand, went and joined his uncle, Sultan Mahmud Khan, in Moghulistan. Finally, fleeing after one of the contests in Moghulistan, he repaired to Andijan, where the governor, who was subject to Shahi Beg Khan, threw him into prison, with the intention of putting him to death ; but escaping thence, he took refuge with his cousin, Babar Padishah, in Kabul. When the Emperor marched again upon Hisar, with the purpose of subduing Mavara-un-Nahr, he sent the Khan to Andijan. On reaching this place, it was given up to him by my uncle, who entered his service. When the Uzbeg a second time became masters of Mavara-un-Nahr, the Khan abandoned Andijan and went to Kashghar, which he took by force of arms, and there he reigned absolute during twenty years. At the end [of his reign] he undertook a holy war against Tibet, where, in the year 939, he died of dam-giri at the age of forty-seven.
233.6
He was a Hanifi by descent. In his youth he was addicted to forbidden pleasures, and little inclined towards laudable and becoming pursuits. On attaining the age of thirty-seven, he renounced all unlawful enjoyments and betook himself to a religious life, under the guidance of Hazrat Makhdumi Khwaja Shahab-ul-Millat wa ud-Din, better known as Khwaja Khavand Mahmud. He devoted all his attention and thought to this noble course, fasting by day and watching by night. In all his private gatherings little else was discussed but religious matters, and by these conferences he was much influenced. Justice had a strong hold over his mind, and in all his affairs he conformed with the Holy Law, never tiring of its observances, but rather delighting in them. He referred most questions to the spiritual courts [dár i-shara'] for settlement.
233.7
He had the greatest reverence for the Ulama. For this he was much blamed by the Sultans of the day; but he answered them saying: "It is fitting to honour and exalt those of my own rank: these people, considering their station in life, cannot claim equality with the humblest of my servants, but I reverence them on account of their knowledge. Whether they are great or whether they are humble [in station, makes no difference], I regard only their learning. No reproach can be levelled at me for this. Those who honour the man for his learning, and not the learning [for its own sake] commit an act of folly." He treated Sufis and pious men as brothers, and they never overstepped the bounds of propriety with him [though there was no ceremony between him and them]. Thoughts of sovereignty and royal dignity never entered his head. He was equally polite to all; and although he upheld the dignity of the royal state, he observed an attitude of affability beyond all conception. I was twenty-four years in his service, and do not remember ever having heard him use abusive or obscene language to an inferior. If any of the slaves in his attendance committed an offence worthy of punishment or reproof, he would frown, but keep his temper and say very little. If he did speak and wished to use abusive language, he never went beyond calling any one "unclean" or "carrion," and if he spoke in Turki he said much the same.