The Nāṣirī Generations 276: ACCOUNT OF THE NOMINATION OF ARMIES FROM TURKISTAN TO PROCEED INTO THE TERRITORY OF ’IRAK.
Tabakat-i-Nasiri 276
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ACCOUNT OF THE NOMINATION OF ARMIES FROM TURKISTAN TO PROCEED INTO THE TERRITORY OF ’IRAK.
276.1
When Uktae despatched an army towards Khurasan and ’Irak, he made the Nu-in Jurmaghun the commander of it; and on that army marching towards that territory it consisted of about 50,000 Mughals, and other races of Turkistan, and captives of Khurasan; and the number, which turned their faces towards 'Irak, amounted, in all, to about 100,000 horse. On reaching that country in the year 628 H., they massacred so many of the people of that territory and parts adjacent that the pen hath not the power of recording them; and all the cities of 'Irak, and the Jibal [of 'Irak-i-'Ajam], of Aran, of Azarbaijan, Gilan, the territory of Rustam-dar, which is on the shores of the Bahr-i-Khurz [the Caspian sea], as far as the Dar-band-i-Rum [the Caspian Gates], and Tabaristan, the whole were ravaged, pillaged, and laid waste, with the single exception of the city of Safahan [Isfahan], which was not taken for a period of fifteen years after the first irruption of the Chingiz Khan, the Mughal, and the entry of his forces into the country of 'Irak, as will be subsequently recorded in its proper place.
276.2
That army of Mughals [under Jurmaghun] entered through the Hulwan Pass, and ravaged the country up to the neighbourhood of the metropolis of Islam—the city of Baghdad. On several occasions, from the Court of the Lord of the Faithful, Al-Mustansir B’illah, the Maliks of Islam, with the troops of 'Ajam, and Turks, Kurds, and 'Arabs [in his service], were despatched to repel the Mughals and the infidel hosts. They [the troops of the Khalifah] frequently engaged in holy warfare against the infidels, and encountered them in many conflicts; and, upon all occasions, the troops of Islam were triumphant and victorious. During that period, in no way, could the infidels seize upon any of the parts adjacent to, and [immediately] round about, the Dar-ul-Khilafat, Baghdad.
276.3
The accursed Jurmaghun, who was the commander of the infidel Mughals, pitched his camp in the neighbourhood of Kum and Kashan, and some [of his forces] he despatched on incursions into Pars and Kirman. The Ata-Bak, Abu-Bikr of Pars, who is the sovereign of that territory, and likewise the brother of the Hajib, Burak, the Khita-i, who had become ruler of Gawashir and Kirman, entered into an accommodation with the Mughal forces, and agreed upon a fixed sum as tribute which they should pay them yearly. The territories of Pars and Kirman, through that conclusion of peace, became tranquillized, and remained safe from the molestation of the forces of the Mughal infidels. The whole of the remainder of the cities of 'Irak, Azarbaijan, and Tabaristan, were ruined and destroyed. At this period, likewise, armies of Mughals were nominated to march from the side of Turkistan into the territories of Kabul, Ghaznin, and Zawulistan; and Malik Saif-ud-Din, Hasan, the Karlugh — the Almighty’s mercy be upon him! — when he saw, on several occasions, that he could not resist the power of the infidel Mughals except in the way of enduring vassalage, submitted to be dependent on them, and consented to receive Shahnahs [Intendants]; and the Maliks of Ghur and Khurasan likewise all obtained Shahnahs.
276.4
The Bahadur, Ta-ir, was appointed to proceed into the territory of Hirat from Turkistan, and Mughal forces advanced towards the country of Nim-roz. These events came to pass in Sijistan and Nim-roz, on the second occasion, during the time of Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, the Khwarazmi, who, in Sistan, had acquired strength, and had laid in abundant stores and munitions of war. In the year 625 H., a Mughal army entered the territory of Nim-roz and invested the fortress of Uk of Sijistan, which lies in the direction of north-east from the Shahristan of Sistan. For a period of nineteen months that army sat down before the fortress; but, notwithstanding all the efforts and exertions which the Mughal infidels used to make, in no way did they succeed in gaining possession of that fortress and city, until pestilence overcame the Musalmans of the fortress, and until matters reached such a pitch among the people thereof, that one or two hundred men, who would be collected together in one place, would suddenly—Be the readers preserved from such a fate!—pass to the Almighty’s mercy. Trustworthy persons have related that, one night, the people of the fortress projected the formation of an ambuscade during the night, for the purpose of repelling the Mughal troops, and that they should conceal themselves among some of the kilns outside the northern gate.
276.5
It was determined that, when the morning dawned, [a body of] fighting men should issue from the eastern gate of the citadel, and engage in holy warfare [with the enemy], and, when the Mughal troops should turn their faces towards that body of holy-warriors which should issue from the eastern gate, the kettle drums should be sounded on the summit of the fort. Then the body of men in ambush outside the northern gate should, on hearing the sound of the kettle drums, disclose the ambuscade, and should advance on the rear of the infidel army, and fight for the faith as by the tenets thereof enjoined. According to this determination, about 700 men, Tulakis, in complete panoply, issued from the fortress at midnight, and proceeded to the spot fixed upon for the place of ambuscade, and there took up their position. At daybreak the next morning, after having performed their religious duties, the people of the fortress donned their arms and issued forth from the eastern gate, and began the attack upon the infidels. The Mughals, from their camp, turned their faces towards those Musalmans, the champions of the faith, and a severe action commenced; and, when the forces on both sides mingled together at close quarters, with sword, spear, and arrow, according to the previous night’s arrangement, they beat the kettle drums within the fortress for the purpose of unmasking the ambuscade. Once, twice, the drums sounded, but not a man issued from the ambuscade;
276.6
and, of that whole body, not a trace could be discovered. Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, despatched confidential persons, saying: “Go ye and see what is the cause of this delay of the ambuscade party.” When those sent came to the spot they found the whole 700 men dead, for they had surrendered their lives to God; and there was no sign of life in any one of them. God preserve us from the like! This catastrophe has been recorded here in order that those who look into these pages may know, for certain, that, when the wrath of God, the Most High, ariseth, such like marks of punishment are manifested.
276.7
Trustworthy persons have related that the most common and violent manner in which the pestilence affected the people of the fort of Ok of Sistan was this, that their mouths would begin to ache, and their teeth to become loose, and, on the third day, they used to resign their lives to their Creator. The state of the people of the fortress continued in this way until, suddenly, a woman among the inhabitants thereof became attacked with the aching of the mouth, and, on the second day, her teeth became loose. She had a little daughter, and, on the third night, she called her unto her, seated her by her, and said: “My dear! to-night I will anoint thy hands and feet with hinna with mine own hands, for to-morrow is the third day, and the hour of thy mother’s decease.” With this view she applied hinna to the hands and feet of her little daughter. It is usual with women that, when they apply hinna to the hands and feet of any one, they apply the fingers to the tongue in order that the fingers may be moistened with the saliva of their mouths, and then they apply the hinna to the part to be dyed. Having applied the hinna to her little daughter’s hands and feet, she resigned her heart to death, and went to sleep. In the morning, the woman’s teeth had become firmly fixed at the roots, and the aching of the mouth had entirely passed away. When the third day came and passed, the neighbours and acquaintances found her recovered, and, on the fourth day, she had become quite well again.
276.8
People were astonished, and they made inquiry of her about it, saying : “How has it come about, and by what means, that thou art still alive, the disease of the mouth gone, and thy teeth firm ? What medicine didst thou take, and what remedy apply ?” The woman replied : “I had no medicine whatever, and took none : Almighty God restored me to health.” They said : “He is the Author of all things, but, really, what act didst thou put in practice, and what operation was performed by thee ?” The woman mentioned the application of hinna to her daughter’s hands and feet, the incident of wetting her fingers, and, by that action, of the hinna reaching her mouth. The whole [of the neighbours and acquaintances] concurred together that the cure for this disease was hinna ; and it so happened that this circumstance reached the [hearing of the] people of the fort, and the incident became diffused, and matters came to such a state, that every one who was attacked with this disorder they used to put hinna in the mouth of, and such person would recover. A mann of hinna reached the price of two hundred and fifty golden dinars, and whoever possessed any acquired great wealth by disposing of it. Almighty God hath many favours for His servants, but for death there is no antidote !
276.9
At last, Malik Taj-ud-Din, Binal-Tigin, was struck in the eye by an arrow, and that eye was lost ; and, subsequent to that accident, he was directing the defence of the fortress from the top of one of the towers, when, suddenly, he lost his footing and fell from the top of the fort to the ground, and was taken prisoner. He was made a martyr of, and the fortress of Uk of Sijistan fell into the hands of the Mughals ; and the inhabitants were martyred, after a great number of the infidels had gone to hell, as has been previously recorded herein. May God, the Most High, continue the Sultan of Islam, Nasir-ud-Dunya wa ud-Din, Mahmud Shah, who is the Badshah of the present time, upon the throne of sovereignty, victorious and triumphant!