The Nāṣirī Generations 275: Anecdote.
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 275
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Anecdote.
275.1
Trustworthy persons have related that Chaghatae, the accursed, was, at all times, striving to oppress the Muhammadans, and devising means to bring trouble and calamity upon the people of Islam, and bringing ruin upon those that remained of them and causing their extirpation, so that no sign or trace of them might anywhere be found. In the diffusion of that iniquity he was wont to machinate and to labour, and was in the habit of instigating a party of Mughals — Nu-yins and Bahadurs — in such a manner that they used to bring to Uktae’s notice words and acts on the part of Musalmans such as used to be the source of trouble and injury to the people of Islam, and the cause of their ruin and destruction, until, on one occasion, Chaghatae incited one of the priests of the idol-worshippers, which sect, in the Turki language, they style Tu-nian [Tunis], on such wise, that he came before Uktae and stated, saying : I have seen the Chingiz Khan in a dream, and he has given me a command to convey unto thee, and thou, who art Uktae, his son, and installed by him, in his place, shouldst neither neglect, in any way, to carry out that command, nor deviate from, or fail to comply with, that yasah [ordinance] ; and let it not be that thou receive not the Chingiz Khan’s approbation.
275.2
The mandate is this that the Chingiz Khan has commanded, saying : ‘ The Musalmans have grown exceedingly numerous, and, in the end, the downfall of the Mughal empire will be brought about by the Musalmans, therefore it is necessary that the whole of them that are in our whole dominions, to wit, from the countries of Qim, Tamghaj, Tingit, and Turkistan, as far as the land of I-ran and ’Ajam, you should put to death, and not leave name nor vestige of them to remain.’ I have now delivered unto thee the command of the Chingiz Khan, thy father, and have removed that obligation from my neck. It behoveth thee to comply with it, and show obedience thereto, and not grant respite of life to the Musalman peoples, so that the empire may not sustain deterioration.” When he [the priest] conveyed this command to Uktae, who was a just, wise, prudent, and sagacious monarch, and friendly towards the Musalman people, he, of his princely penetration, perceived that this statement was false and a lie, that, from the utterance thereof, the odour of fabrication pervaded the smelling sense of discrimination, and that it appeared to have been hatched by his brother, Chaghatae — the Almighty’s curse upon him !
275.3
Uktae presently commanded that, for the Tuni idol-worshipper, a grand place should be got ready, with due preparation and arrangement for his accommodation, and provided with all things requisite and befitting for him, and said to him : “ This command is a very serious and awful one, and it will be necessary to shed the blood of a vast number of people. There is not a person among the Maliks, Nu-yins, Bahadurs, and Juzbis, that has not a great number of Musalman captives, and they [the Maliks, etc.] are dispersed in various parts of the territories of Chin, Tamghaj, Turkistan, I-ran, and ’Ajam. It is absolutely necessary that this command should be communicated to them, in order that the whole of them may act according to its precept; and therefore it is now necessary for thee to wait so that this mandate may be sent out into the whole of the Mughal dominions, in order that the Nu-yins, Juzbis, and Bahadurs, and other Maliks, may assemble, and this awful command may be communicated to them, in such wise that all of them may be required to comply with it.” Uktae consequently issued directions so that they lodged this Tuni idol-worshipper at the place which had been fixed upon, in such a manner that he was treated with honour and reverence, and not a tittle of the minutiae of due attention was left unobserved, because that accursed Gabr had some name and reputation in the region of Turkistan, and in Tamghaj and Chin.
275.4
As soon as the prescribed period expired, and the grandees of the Mughal dominions assembled, Uktae commanded so that they convoked a great assembly, attended with princely ceremony, such as was the established custom of that people [the Mughals], and all with befitting formality, and observance of the prescribed duties. After this, Uktae ascended the throne; and the whole of the grandees of the empire were present, with loins girded, before the throne; and those among them who were permitted to sit came down on the knees of homage. He then commanded that that Tuni should be conducted into his place of audience with all honour and reverence. When he arrived, and sat down before the throne, Uktae said: “Now is the time that thou shouldst pronounce the command of the Chingiz Khan, and declare what that command is, in order that all may obey it.” That Tuni stood up, and pronounced the command of the Chingiz Khan in the manner he pretended he had received it, and delivered it. All present bowed their heads to the ground, and, with one accord, said: “We have heard the command, and we bend our necks thereto. What is the will of Uktae, the sovereign of the time, with respect to the mode in which it is necessary to obey this command, and how it behoveth to proceed, in order that we may all of us act accordingly?” Uktae replied: “Every claim requires proof and demonstration, in order that truth from falsehood, and right from wrong, may be distinguished;
275.5
and this statement requires the testimony of witnesses of the circumstances, because, if it turns out correct that it is the command of the Chingiz Khan, it will be necessary for all to obey that command; and, if it is false and a fabrication, or is the invention of this person, or invented at the instigation of an insidious person, the blood of people, subjects, and servants, must not be shed for a lie.” On Uktae’s concluding this speech, those present bowed their heads to the ground [saying]: “This which the Khan speaks, the whole of the sages of the world, the discriminating and the exalted in intellect, cannot add to, for it is a princely speech and a noble saying, which excellency of understanding and sovereignty indeed demands; and no created being is able to place the hand of objection to the forehead of this command, but it behoveth that Uktae should direct and point out in what manner the truth or falsehood, veracity or falsity thereof, may be demonstrated and made known.” Uktae turned his face towards that Tuni idol-worshipper, saying: “Dost thou understand the language, or the Turki language.
275.6
or dost thou know both those tongues?” The Tuni idol-worshipper replied: “I understand the Turki language, and I do not understand the Mughali tongue.” Uktae turned his face towards the hereditary Mughal grandees, whose lineage and descent were from pure Mughals, and said: “Unto ye it is certain and clear, that the Chingiz Khan used not to understand any language whatever save the Mughali language.” They all bent their heads to the ground, and, with one accord, replied: “Indeed, such is the case, that the Chingiz Khan understood no other language than the Mughali.” Uktae, turning his face towards that Tuni, asked: “In what language did the Chingiz Khan deliver this command unto thee: in the Mughali or the Turki language? If he spoke in Mughali, seeing thou dost not understand it, in what manner didst thou comprehend what he was saying and, if he spoke in Turki, since he used not to understand Turki, how did he communicate the order? Give an answer from which an odour of truth may come, in order that action may be taken thereon.”
275.7
That impious, malevolent, cursed, Tuni remained silent and confounded, on such wise that the breath did not issue from that infernal one, and he became completely shamed. All the Mughal grandees and the Maliks of Turkistan bowed their heads to the ground, and with one accord said: “This command [from the Chingiz Khan] is false, and is devoid of truth.” Uktae said to the Tuni: “For the sake of my own dignity, and that of my brother Chaghatae, I do not inflict punishment upon thee. Return to thy abode, and say unto Chaghatae, and to his dependents, that they must draw back their hands from afflicting and oppressing Musalmans, as they are our brothers and friends; in them the strength of our dominion is evident, and, with their assistance, many peoples have been subdued by us.” May Almighty God mitigate his torments [in hell]! Some persons, whose statements are worthy of reliance have so stated that such-like favours and reverence were a proof of this, that Uktae, secretly, had become a Musalman; but God knows the truth.