The Rashīdī History 58: CHAPTER XXXIV. · THE MARTYRDOM OF VAIS KHAN.

58

A SHORT time after the departure of Amir Khudaidad for Mekka, and the accession of Mir Muhammed Shah to his father's rank and titles, Vais Khan's destiny was achieved. It came about in the following way. Satuk Khan—one of those men upon whom Amir Timur had conferred the title of Khan—had been placed within four strong walls in the centre of the town. The place is called nowadays, in Samarkand, Hiyat-i-Khan [the walls of the Khan]. It is a large place and each division of it has a separate name. One of them is the Hauz-i-Bostan-i-Khan [the reservoir of the Khan's garden], which is one of the loveliest spots in Samarkand. In the days of Amir Timur, Suyurghatmish Khan occupied this place; he, however, went away to Irak, and Sultan Mahmud Khan was appointed to the Hiyat-i-Khan in his stead. All the mandates [manshur] of Amir Timur bear the name of these two Khans. So also the mandates of Mirza Ulugh Beg bear the name of Satuk Khan. Mirza Ulugh Beg removed this Satuk Khan from the Hiyat-i-Khan, and put some one else in his place, whom he also made Khan. He then sent Satuk Khan into Moghulistan.
Vais Khan was in Issigh Kul, at Bakabulung. I have heard Maulana Khwaja Ahmad say: "Khwaja Abdul-Karim, my cousin, who was on very intimate terms with Vais Khan, used to relate that one Friday, just before the service, Vais Khan, who had performed his ablutions and had been shaved, came to me and asked: 'Of what is my head, in its present state of cleanliness, worthy?' I replied: 'A jewelled crown.' He said: 'No, it is worthy of martyrdom.' He had scarce uttered those words when a messenger came running up, to say that Satuk Khan had arrived. Vais Khan immediately ordered them to sound the drums, while he himself began to put on his armour. The men who were near at hand quickly gathered round him, and they set out to meet the enemy. There was a stream running between them. When the two forces came in contact, the Khan himself charged forward, and wished to make his horse jump the stream, but the horse sank up to his head [in the mud] on the bank of the river. One of the servants of Mir Muhammad Shah (Jakir by name) was such a good archer that he had not a single rival in the whole tribe, and for this reason the Khan had begged him of Mir Muhammad Shah, for his own service. At the moment when the Khan fell from his horse, Jakir arrived on the spot, and mistaking the Khan for one of the enemy, aimed an arrow at the waist of the Khan, who on being struck rolled over on his back. Then Jakir recognised the Khan, and threw himself upon him. When the news reached Satuk Khan, he set out for the spot and, on his arrival, lay the Khan's head upon his breast, but the last breath of life had fled." The Moghul tribe were in the greatest disorder and, moreover, refused to obey Satuk Khan; so that this latter could no longer remain in Moghulistan, but retired to Kashghar. Here he was overpowered by Karakul Ahmad Mirza, who was a grandson of Amir Khudaidad. Soon after this, Mirza Ulugh Beg sent an army to Kashghar. They seized Karakul Ahmad Mirza and carried him off to Samarkand, where they cut him in half.