The History of Fīrūz Shāh (Baranī) 8.5

8.5

When the besieged were thus reduced to extremities, and were suing for peace, very nearly a month had passed since any couriers had arrived from the Sultán, although the Khán had previously received two or three letters every week. This want of intelligence from the court caused some uneasiness in the minds of the Khán and his officers; they imagined that some of the posts on the road had been destroyed, and that consequently the couriers had been unable to prosecute their journeys with the news. It also caused apprehension and misgivings to spread among the troops, and stories were carried from one to another. 'Ubaid the poet, and Shaikh Záda-i Dimashkí, two evil-disposed, turbulent fellows, who by some means had been introduced to the Khán, fanned the strife, and spread false reports among the soldiers, to the effect that the Sultán was dead, that the government had been overthrown, that a new prince now sat upon the throne of Dehlí, and that the way was quite closed against all couriers and messengers. So every man took his own course. These two malicious men trumped up another false story. They went to Malik Tamar, Malik Tigín, Malik Mall Afghán, and Malik Káfúr, keeper of the seal, and told these nobles that Ulugh Khán looked upon them with envy and suspicion, as generals and nobles of the reign of 'Aláu-d dín, and as obstacles to his attaining the throne;