The History of Shēr Shāh (Tārīkh-i Shērshāhī) 3.13
Táríkh-i Sher Sháhí of 'Abbás Khán Sarwání (extracts) 3.13
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3.13.1
Gaur having fallen, Jalal Khan sent an account of the victory to his father, and attributed it to Khawas Khan. On hearing the news, Sher Khan was exceedingly delighted; and Churaman also came to him, and said that the Raja had consented to give him the fort of Rohtas, into which he might bring his women and children. Sher Khan brought his women and children near to the fort, and expressed his devoted friendship for and obligation to the Raja, and gave him much money and goods of various kinds, saying: "If ever I am again prosperous, I will not consider myself absolved from my obligations to you." The Raja was much delighted, and said, "The fort of Rohtas is yours, order in your family." Sher Khan had given orders to his men that none should go out who once went in; after this, Sher Khan himself went in and examined the fort. He thanked God, and said: "The fort of Chunar is no fort in comparison with this; as that has gone out of my possession, this has come into it. I was not so pleased at the conquest of Gaur as (I am) at getting possession of Rohtas." And he said to the guards of the fort, "You had best go to the Raja, and say, 'You cannot remain in the same place with the Afghans, or it will be the worse for you.'" And he ordered his own men, if the guards did not obey the order to leave the fort, to eject them by force. Sher Khan's men were all prepared, as, when they told the guards what Sher Khan had said, and these refused, they turned them out by force of arms.
3.13.2
So Sher Khan placed his own guards and sentries in every part of the fort, and took the greatest precaution for its safe custody, and drove the Rája away from the fort. In the manner thus described he got possession of the fort of Rohtas.
3.13.3
The commonly received report that Sher Khan put Afgháns into dolís, and sent them into the fort as women, is altogether erroneous and false. For I, the writer of this history, Tuhfa-i Akbar Sháhí, the son of Shaikh 'Alí, have inquired of several chiefs and nobles who were with Sher Khán in the affair. For example, I inquired of the chief of great nobles Muzaffar Khán, and nephew of Masnad 'Alí 'Ísá Khan, and of Shaikh Muhammad, son of Mián Báyazíd Sarwání, and several others who were present on the occasion; and they said, "It is needful you should hear from us the history of your ancestors, for you are connected with Sultán Bahlol, Sultán Sikandar, Sher Sháh, and Salím Sháh. Take heed to our words, for after a lapse of many days, frequent errors and mistakes arise. We will tell you what we heard and saw." I said to Khán-'azam Muzaffar Khán, son of Jalál Khán, the son of Haibat Khán, "It is commonly said that Sher Khán took Rohtás by introducing the Afgháns in covered litters, and you contradict this story. I do not know whom to believe." He replied: "You know I was with the followers of Masnad 'Alí 'Ísá Khan, and my family was in Rohtás, while I accompanied Sher Khán to the hills." When Sher Khán got possession of Rohtás, he left there his women and children, with his eldest son 'Ádil Khán, and Kutb Khán; and he himself went to the hills of Bahrkunda, and wandered about from place to place.
3.13.4
After the Emperor Humáyún had got possession of Chunár, he halted in Benares, and sent an envoy to Sher Khán, having it in view to get possession of the country of Bihár. Sher Khán knew he had this design, and said to the envoy, "I have captured the fort of Gaur, and have collected about me a very large force of Afgháns. If the Emperor will abandon all design upon Bengal, I will surrender Bihár to him, and make it over to whomsoever he will depute, and will agree to the same boundaries of Bengal as existed in Sultán Sikandar's time; and I will send all the ensigns of royalty—as the umbrella throne, etc.—to the Emperor, and will yearly send him ten lacs of rupees from Bengal. But let the Emperor return towards Ágra." The envoy came back to Humáyún, and reported what Sher Khán had said. The Emperor, on hearing about Bihár, became exceedingly glad, and agreed to what Sher Khán proposed, and gave a horse, and a peculiarly splendid khil'at to the envoy for delivery to Sher Sháh; and directed him to say to Sher Sháh that his proposals were accepted, and that he should not delay to put them in execution. The vakíl came to Sher Sháh, and gave him the horse and dress, and told him what the Emperor had said. Sher Khán was much delighted, and said, "I will fulfil the terms agreed upon, and will pray day and night to Almighty God that while life lasts no hostility may befall between the Emperor and myself, for I am his dependent and servant."
3.13.5
Three days after this despatch the envoy of Sultán Mahmúd, the ruler of Bengal, came into the presence of the Emperor Humáyún, and made the following communication: "The Afghans have seized the fort of Gaur, but most of the country is yet in my possession; let not Your Majesty trust to Sher Khán's promises, but march towards these parts, and before they have established and strengthened themselves, expel them from the country, and altogether suppress this revolt. I also will join you, and they are not powerful enough to oppose you." As soon as he heard this request of Sultán Mahmúd, the Emperor ordered his victorious standards to be set in motion towards Bengal; and afterwards he ordered the Khán-khánán Yúsuf-khail, the Birlás chiefs, and some other nobles, to go on in advance, and with their force in battle array to move towards the hills of Bahrkunda, where Sher Khán was. Mírzá Hindál also was ordered to cross the Ganges with his division, and to move on Hájípúr. The Emperor himself went towards Bengal. When Sher Khán heard this intelligence, he entirely gave up all trust in the promises and faith of Humáyún, and said to the envoy: "I have observed all loyalty to the Emperor, and have committed no offence against him, and have not encroached upon his boundaries. When I got Bihár from the Lohánis, and the King of Bengal formed a design to seize that country, I besought him most submissively to leave me as I was, and not to attempt to deprive me of Bihár.
3.13.6
By reason of his large army and forces he would not attend to me, and since he thus oppressed me, the Almighty gave me the victory; and as he coveted the kingdom of Bihár, God wrested away from him also the kingdom of Bengal. The Emperor has only considered the word of the ruler of Bengal, and has overlooked the service I have rendered, and all the force of Afghans which I have assembled for his service, and has marched against Bengal. When the Emperor besieged Chunar, the Afghans urged me to oppose him, but I restrained them from declaring war, and said, 'The Emperor is powerful ; you should not fight with him for the sake of a fort, for he is my lord and patron, and when he perceives that, in spite of my powerful forces, I pay respect to him, he will understand that I am his loyal servant, and will give me a kingdom to maintain this large army. The Emperor desired the kingdom of Bihar, and I was willing to surrender it. But it is not the right way to govern a kingdom to separate so large a force from his service, and in order to please their enemies, to ruin and slay the Afghans.' But since the Emperor takes no heed of all this good service, and has violated his promise, I have now no hope or means of restraining the Afghans from opposing him. You will hear what deeds the Afghans will do, and the march to Bengal will end in repentance and regret, for now the Afghans are united, and have laid aside their mutual quarrels and envyings.
3.13.7
The country which the Mughals have taken from the Afghans, they got through the internal dissensions among the latter." So saying, he gave him a parting present, and dismissed him. The force he had with him Sher Khan sent to Rohtas, and he himself with a few horsemen, in order that he might not be traced, set off from that place towards Gaur secretly. From thence he proceeded, unknown to any one, to the hills, and lay hid there, and sent spies into the camp of the Emperor in order to discover his intentions. Humayun was told, after he had made two marches, that Sher Khan had gone to the hills. He, therefore, returned ; and the Khan-khanan Yusuf-khail and Barri Birlas, who had been sent against Sher Khan, were halted in the pargana of Munir Shaikh Yahya, where they heard that Sultan Mahmud Barri, the King of Gaur, was come. Birlas went out to meet him. They had not yet escorted him to his encamping ground, when the Emperor himself arrived at Munir. They brought Sultan Mahmud to the Emperor, who did not receive him kindly or pay him the respect he anticipated; so that Sultan Mahmud repented that he had come, and shortly afterwards died from extreme grief. The Emperor issued orders for the arrangement of his army at the town of Munir.