The History of Humāyūn (Gulbadan Begam) 4.4.4

4.4.4

The events of 1550 sum up in Jauhar's words: "Mirza Kamran wandered about the country with bad intentions." In his course he surprised Humayun in the Qibchaq defile, and an engagement took place which was attended by great loss of life. It was witnessed by Kamran's wives and daughters from a commanding height. Bayazid mentions that the bibis wore turbans, a detail which may have been suggested by the great heat of the weather. Why the women were on the scene is perhaps explained by a similar record in the Memoirs which concerns a wife of Sultan Husain Mirza. Shahr-banu, a daughter of Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza, was, with Husain's other wives, present at a battle between her husband and her brother, Mahmud Mirza. She did not, as the other ladies did, leave her litter and mount a horse, so as to be ready for flight if necessary, but trusting to her brother, in the case of her husband's defeat, remained comfortably in her litter while the fight went on. This dispassionate composure so much offended Husain that he divorced her. Perhaps Kamran's family, too, had prepared for whatever was to be their fate by protecting themselves against the sun and by being ready to mount.