Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 42.14
A Translation of the Seir Mutaqherin (Haji Mustafa) 42.14
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42.14.1
Sheab-eddin-qhan, who had been sent to take the inconsiderable town of Rameh, and who, with the army and artillery with which he had been furnished, and the character he bore for bravery and conduct, ought to have taken it by insult, found, on his arrival, matters very much altered from the account given him. The Governor Simbha was resolved to defend himself to the last extremity. This man, who had for all artillery only three guns out of order and very old, but chanced to be master of a great deal of timber, contrived a number of wooden ones, which he covered with leather, and which he planted everywhere upon the ramparts; and these he never made use of but when an attack or an escalade was actually going on against his walls, at which time they fired once, and presently were unfit for further service, but they answered the purpose of keeping in awe an enemy that knew nothing of the secret. This Governor, by such a contrivance, and many others of the same kind, found means to protract the siege; and to so much art and contrivance he joined so much firmness and so much bravery, that Sheab-eddin, with his army and artillery, could not prevail. The siege drew to a length. The Emperor informed of this, sent to his assistance Cassem-qhan, an able and prudent General, avide of glory, and desirous of being employed. The new General went very briskly to work, and gave several assaults;
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but which were all repelled by the Governor, who seemed equally proof against open attacks and secret practices. At last the famous Qhan-djehan-cocaltash was sent thither; and repeated attacks were made, and assaults given, and all to no purpose. Qhan-djehan, repulsed everywhere, betook himself to the following expedient: He ordered a number of troops, supported by all the sutlers and followers of the army, to present themselves with great cries, as if with intention to give an assault, by which they would draw the attention of the garrison to themselves. He at the same time prepared a number of ladders, and a body of four hundred picked men, whom he encouraged by the promises of a high pay and several rewards. Their business was, as soon as the garrison should be taken up with the false attack, to advance silently to the foot of the wall, plant their ladders, and mount, unperceived, and before the garrison could think of them. Unfortunately the Governor, who had spies in camp and kept a sharp look-out, was informed of the whole scheme; and he counteracted it exactly in the same manner. He appointed a multitude of soldiers as well as useless people in opposing the false attack, but reserved a select body for the particular attack intended to take effect. These he ordered to squat themselves all along the parapet, and to hold themselves ready with certain iron hooks, made of five branches of that species called Rdih, in Decan, and Bagh-nâk, or Tiger's-paw, in Hindostan.
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Each of them, besides his spear and long sword, was furnished with one of these engines. They were directed to squat on the ground close to the parapet, and to observe so profound a silence, that the besiegers should not suspect there was a soul there. At the appointed time of the attack, two young men, who marched as the forlorn hope, advanced to the foot of the wall, planted their ladder, and got up, being followed by others upon the same ladder; the same activity was made use of at the other ladders. But as soon as a certain number had got nearly to the top of the wall, those of the garrison, that waited but for them, got up at once from their hiding places, and tearing up with one hand the turbants of those that had reached the wall, gave them with the other so many strokes of their engine as tore hideously their heads and faces, and overthrew them all down the wall, over head and heels. These, by their weight, brought down those that were yet upon the ladders; and the whole of them being now sprawling on the ground, presented a dreadful scene of mangled faces, and broken legs and arms. This stratagem of the besiegers having failed, another was set up; and this was of the supernatural kind. There was then in camp an impostor, who had acquired much renown throughout the army, by incantations and conjuring up spirits. This man, having found means to introduce himself to Qhan-djehan, had the daringness to propose to him a new and strange way of taking the fortress.
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He obtained that he should order him a snake of gold, of about one hundred tolas weight; and putting on a certain dress made of Bulgar-leather, stuffed with cotton, he got upon a lofty scaffold of wood, made on purpose for the occasion, and commanding the troops to mount to the assault, he commenced giving a variety of motions to his snake, and singing, and crying, and invoking his familiars. He had promised that at the end of his incantations, the fortress would be taken. Whilst he was agitating his body in such a frantic manner, a ball of stone, discharged from one of the wooden guns upon the wall, struck him in the stomach; and the man, tumbling down with his snake and leather dress, broke his arm and leg, and thereby put an end to the attack. This expedient having failed in this manner, and the siege having been already protracted to so irksome a length, the Generals grew tired of it, and went away, having first changed their dress to prevent their being known; they at the same time set fire to the scaffold they had raised close to the wall. On sight of this, the besieged cried out from the walls, "Stay until the whole is consumed, and then you shall rub the "ashes of it over your faces, and shall then retreat proper"ly accoutred!" Simbadji, the Marhatta Prince, hearing of this vigorous defence, sent the Governor a Qhylaat of high value, and a pair of bracelets, of those called Caras in Hindostan; they were of gold, and weighing each half a seer.
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He at the same time drew him from that inconsiderable fortification, and gave him the command of one of the strongest fortresses in his dominions. We find in authentic records and histories that the S8bah, alias Kingdom of Bidja-p8r, stretches to more than three or four months journey in length, and to full two hundred cosses in breadth. Its revenue, in the beginning of Sekender-adel-shah's reign, who was dispossessed by Aoreng-zib, was of two corores of h8ns (pagodas), that is, seven corores of rupees: an extent of dominion which was so far reduced and so ill administered by his Ministers, that when he lost his crown, his possessions did not extend beyond a revenue of seventy lacs of rupees a year. This event took place in the twenty-ninth year of Aoreng-zib's reign, answering to the year one thousand and ninety-six, of the Hedjira. Azem-shah, one of the Emperor's sons, was appointed to the command of that expedition, and he received from his father a number of Generals renowned for valour and conduct. Roh-ollah-qhan was a principal of them, at the head of twenty thousand horse. To him was joined Seyd-abdollah, an ancient servant of S8ltan Muazzem's; he commanded a large train of artillery, with a body of two thousand horse.
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It was at that very time the Emperor had already dispatched Qhan-djehan at the head of a large army and a great train of artillery, with orders to invade the territory of Haider-abad, to which he had already given the name of the "Theatre of Sacred War." Seyd-abdollah, after some skirmishes, arrived before Bag-tana, which he was preparing to besiege, in expectation of being soon joined by S8ltan Azem. But as there subsisted a great disunion and misintelligence between the two brothers, S8ltan Muazzem and Azem-shah, the latter wished that no mention should be made during the siege of any officer belonging to his elder brother; and as he knew Seyd-abdollah to be a man of an heroic valour and a determined soldier, he sent him word underhand, that he might have him for his friend, if he would but attach himself to his person, or, at least, forbear to call his trenches by the name of Soltan Muazzem's. But as that officer had consented to be of the expedition, on the encouragement given him by Roh-ollah-qhan, his ancient friend, the same proposals were sent to this General likewise. It happened that all this insidious negotiation produced no effect. Seyd-abdollah rejected the proposal with indignation;
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and Azem-shah, shocked at the refusal, sent word to the besieged, that they might with safety fall upon Seyd-abdollah's trenches, as they might depend upon his not being supported, or at least upon his receiving only such an assistance as would be effectually defeated by a variety of contrived delays. When the message arrived from the Prince, it happened that Seyd-abdollah was actually leading an attack against the walls. His artillery made a fire superior to any thing throughout the whole army, and he was himself the foremost amongst his troops; but he was repulsed, and besides many other soldiers, he lost two hundred and fifty men, mostly of Barr, all his countrymen, and all men of distinguished characters and bravery, and all personally known to Soltan Muazzem; he lost also two war elephants. Seyd-abdollah was descried from afar rallying his disordered troops, and leading them again to the charge; and his undaunted countenance struck so much terror amongst the besieged, that they were going to cry for quarter. It was at this moment that Azem-shah sent Roh-ollah-qhan, in appearance to support that brave man, but in reality, to manage so as to bring some disgrace upon him, and upon the other friends of Soltan Muazzem's. Roh-ollah-qhan, obliged to submit to the times, and to humour the Imperial Prince, advanced to Seyd-abdollah, and advised him to forbear so infructuous an attack;
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and this officer, on observing how the wind blew and how coldly he was supported, recalled his men, and returned much dispirited to his quarters. On the commencement of the attack, intelligence had come to Court, that Seyd-abdollah had behaved greatly to his honor; and the Emperor felicited Soltan Muazzem on the event; but the next day's intelligence having ascertained that he had been repulsed with loss, he seemed incensed against both that officer and the Prince. Upon some further intelligence, he got information of the true state of affairs, and recalled to Court both Seyd-abdollah and Roh-ollah-qhan. The former was reprimanded; and had not Roh-ollah-qhan interposed and obtained the Imperial pardon, for a miscarriage of which that officer was not guilty, he would have been disgraced with shame and infamy. This singular proceeding is reported by Hashem-aaly-qhan-qhafi, as an instance of Imperial policy, and of knowledge of the world in Aoreng-zib.