Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 42.12
A Translation of the Seir Mutaqherin (Haji Mustafa) 42.12
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42.12.1
It is those very parts which the historian, Hashem-aaly-qhan-qhafi, seems just to indicate, which I have expressly selected, for publication, and which I shall mention here, in his own words, to save my own credit; they are as follow: — Although the analysts of those times were forbidden to continue in their chronicles the rest of that religious, that equitable Emperor's history, after those ten years; nevertheless, some by-standers, and especially Mustaed-qhan, used to commit secretly to writing some of the events relative to the wars in Decan, passing slightly over the blamable parts of his conduct, and insisting only upon conquests of cities and fortresses, and upon victories. But as this is far from filling up the chasm of forty remaining years, I have endeavoured to make up the deficiency by assembling from all parts, and bringing together in one point of view, some scattered members of knowledge and intelligence transmitted to posterity by bystanders equally impartial and clear-sighted.
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And as, notwithstanding that, I find no particular account of the second ten years of that incomparable Emperor's reign, such at least as is digested in months and years, and it is impossible, of course, to bring such a disjointed part into regular order, I have endeavoured to give some account of this second decade as far as the nineteenth year, by comparing together the Gazettes sent to the presence, with the annals of several neighbouring provinces, as drawn up by witnesses present and unconcerned; and it is from such materials, that I shall endeavour to continue this historical account, taking it up at the twentieth year of that reign. Qhan-djehan, after his expedition of Haider-abad, was disgraced, and he retired to his Djaghiry lands, where he died of a broken heart. That General had chastised the Marhattas in such a manner, as to compel them to a quiet submissive behaviour, for some time before the arrival of the Emperor's victorious standards in those parts. Yet it happened that after the arrival of such numerous forces with the Emperor himself at their head; after the conquest of so many fortresses and cities; after spending so many corors of money, and full twenty-six years of his life in that expedition; those countries, at his death, were more unsettled than ever, and those infidels, so often beaten and vanquished, were become more warlike and more insolent than ever.
42.12.3
They were settling their abodes upon the ancient territory of the Empire, and very often giving his armies shameful defeats, which cannot be attributed to any thing, but to that general discontent, and that universal disgust, that had spread among his officers and Ministers; disgraces which after having obscured the glory of his armies under his eyes, had extended to more distant provinces with a "deal of execution amongst them; but these people will be up by the dawn of the day, and will probably endeavour to hem me in on all sides. In that case, I shall retreat towards you, with all those pursuers at my back; and your business will be then to display all our standards, make as much noise as you can with our music, and with your compact body to fall upon those people whom their pursuit shall have put in disorder." This said, he fell upon the Marhattas at about three o'clock in the morning, and killed an infinity of men, before they had time to awake and to recollect themselves; nor was anything heard but the words, "take and kill." At day-break the smallness of his numbers becoming apparent, the Marhatta General, who had by this time assembled sixteen thousand horse, fell on all sides upon him, as well as upon the Radja who had not yet been joined by more than a thousand horse.
42.12.4
Qhan-djehan, being hard pressed, retreated towards the Radja, with still the Marhattas at his back, when the Radja unfurling at once his standards, and playing his kettle-drums and trumpets, advanced to the attack. The moment that it was discovered by the Marhattas whose standards these were, they fell a crying that Qhan-djehan was come; and without minding his numbers or making any further inquiry, they fled on all sides. At this very moment, he was joined by four thousand more of his horse, and nothing was heard now but the words, "kill and maim." I happened at that very time, says Hashem-aaly-qhan-qhafi, to be in that very district for the purpose of examining my father's appanage; and finding I was surrounded on all sides by those free-booters, I gave up myself for lost. However, I made use of that very confusion, in which the Marhattas had fallen, to throw myself in the Imperial army, from whence I had opportunities to examine the whole engagement leisurely. In a few hours, I perceived ricks of Marhatta dead bodies on all sides; and they were so panic-struck, that quitting their mares and their arms, they would creep into the cottages of the peasants, and ask for quarter with the greatest humility and submission. The others, who had been plundered of their all, would answer those supplications by breaking their heads with sticks and stone. So that all the booty which they had assembled in their camp, fell in the hands of the victors.
42.12.5
Two or three days after the battle, the field being strewed with dead, scavengers were sent amongst them with orders to cut off all the heads ; and about fifty cart-loads of heads, spears, and bucklers were collected and sent to the Citadel of Aoreng-abad. It is in this manner that the renowned General, without ever being at a loss for expedients, used to gain endless victories under Aoreng-zib's auspices. — Here ends the quotation from Hashem-aaly-qhan. It was such victorious Generals and such Lords, prodigal of their blood, that Aoreng-zib was continually disgusting by his suspicions and a cautiousness that had no end and no term. It is such men he was continually accusing in assemblies of purblind Cazies, and hood-winked ecclesiastics, who condemned such men to exiles, and to confiscations of djaghirs ; a fatal blindness, the consequence of which was, that after spending so many years of his life in those expeditions, and squandering away all the corors of the Empire, he found himself farther than ever from bringing the Decan under proper controul ; so far from it, that he inured the Marhattas to wars and to laborious campaigns ;
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insomuch that a little after his death, they broke throughout all the provinces of the Empire like a torrent, made of all Hindostan an hippodrome for their courses, trampled all its cities under the hoofs of their horses, murdered an infinity of Mussulmen, children, men, and women, carried crowds of them into captivity, and defiled an infinity of reputable families ; in which performances they were imitated by the Syks, and some other powerful Gentoos, who then raised their heads. The consequence of those obstinate wars of his in Decan started up in vast numbers during his life-time in his victorious face, and doubtless will start up again in the Day of Judgment ; and this is what history says of his public life. As to his private character, it is by this time well-known : he became the tyrant of his father, of his brother, of his children, and grand-children; and with regard to his blind attachment to Cazies and men of the Church, the following quotation from Hashem-aaly-qhan-qhafi will shew what account he made of their opinions when they chanced to clash with his own, or to come home to himself:— The victorious Emperor having resolved to conquer the Kingdom of Bidja-pûr and Haider-abad, one day asked of the Supreme Judge, or the Supreme Bishop of his Court, what he thought of such an expedition, and how far in his opinion it was lawful to proceed upon it?
42.12.7
The Cazi, having given an answer directly contrary to the Emperor's pleasure, saw such a sudden alteration in his features, that he thought proper to abscond from Court; a few days after, he made use of the interposition of friends, to obtain leave to go to Mecca, in which manner he lost his appointment and office. The author means that the Judge, having incurred the Emperor's resentment by his unguarded decision, fled for his life, and thought himself very lucky to obtain leave to get out of his reach by exiling himself to Mecca. He that succeeded this Judge, was a man of as great a firmness of mind as his predecessor. It was the Cazy Abdollah, Supreme Judge and casuist of the Court. This Magistrate, afflicted to see so many Mussulmen massacred on both sides in the wars of Bidja-pûr and Haider-abad, took upon him to observe, "That the Kings of those countries were Mussulmen, as well as their soldiers; and that, the Imperial army consisting of Mussulmen, the continual massacre that took place on both sides was repugnant to the spirit of the law; and that, should His Majesty, in the wisdom of his enlightened mind and the benignity of his heart, cast a look of compassion on the afflicted state of Mussulmanism, and grant a peace to mankind, an infinity of poor ruined people would recommence to breathe, and might recover their losses." This insinuation was very ill received; a little more, and the Cazy would have been undone for ever.
42.12.8
Some of the Princes of the blood, with many of the principal favourites, interposed their good offices to prevent the Judge's punition, and the Judge's extreme liberty was forgiven him; but he was forbidden the Court, as well as the Imperial presence, and he remained disgraced for a long time.