Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 12.11.1

12.11.1

It was in this critical conjuncture that a nobleman from the Imperial Court announced his arrival in Bengal. It was M8rid-qhan, who came on purpose for enforcing payment of the revenue of that country, which of late had proved much arreared. The Viceroy who had objections both to his errand, and to his entrance into Bengal, requested his stopping at Azim-abad, where he was to wait until the Marhatta invasion could be brought to a conclusion. Meanwhile, he wrote to the Emperor (and this was Mahmed-shah), "That at present his faithful servant had it not in his power to forward, as usual, the Imperial revenue, being totally disabled by the Marhatta's invasion; which also had obliged him to dismiss the Valiant M8rid-qhan, from M8r-sh8d-abad (a city now become the theatre of war), and to desire him to tranquillise himself at Azim-abad, until an end was put to the Marhatta ravages; but that with God's blessing, he hoped that, under the fortunate auspices of His Majesty, he would give a good account of those freebooters, especially if at such a critical time as this, it should be his Imperial pleasure to send some nobleman of the presence, or any other General to assist his own efforts; as it was feared that should any accident happen to him in this warfare, the enemy would not fail to possess himself of the country, and to occasion thereby a heavy loss to the Imperial treasury and wardrobe, which both were "chiefly supplied from the revenue and manufactures of Bengal.