Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 2.14
Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 2.14
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2.14.1
Sultan Sujah owed his discomfiture to the same trifling circumstance as occasioned the defeat of his eldest brother, — that of descending from his elephant for the sake of more expeditiously following the retreating foe: but it may be doubted whether the man by whose advice he acted was influenced by an honest or a perfidious intention. Allah-verdi-kan, one of his principal officers, earnestly entreated him to mount a horse, and it is remarkable that he made use of an artifice very similar to that of Calil-ullah-kan at the battle of Samonguer. He ran towards Sultan Sujah, and, when yet some way off, saluted him (as did Calil-ullah-kan), and then, joining his hands in the manner of fervent entreaty, he said: 'Why, my Prince, incur unnecessary risk on this exalted elephant? do you not see that the enemy is in complete disorder, and that it were an unpardonable fault not to pursue him with alacrity? Mount your horse, and you are King of the Indies.' As in the case of Dara, the sudden disappearance of the Prince from the view of the whole army induced a general idea that he was either killed or betrayed; the troops fell into disorder, and dispersed, without the possibility of restoring their ranks.
2.14.2
Jessomseingue, perceiving the strange turn that the action had taken, contented himself with securing the fruits of his plunder, and without loss of time returned to Agra, intending to continue his retreat thence to his own dominions. The rumour had already reached the capital that Aureng-Zebe had lost the battle; that he and Emir-Jemla were taken prisoners, and that Sultan Sujah was advancing at the head of his victorious army. Chah-hest-kan, Governor of the city, and the uncle of Aureng-Zebe, so fully believed the report, that when he saw Jessomseingue, of whose treason he had been apprised, approach the gate of the city, he grasped, in his despair, a cup of poison. He was prevented, however, from swallowing it by the promptitude of his women, who threw themselves upon him, and dashed the cup to the ground. Two days elapsed before the inhabitants of Agra were undeceived; and it is not doubted that the Raja would have succeeded in releasing Chah-Jehan from confinement had he acted with vigour and decision;—had he threatened with boldness, and promised with liberality: but as he was acquainted with the actual state of affairs, he would neither venture to prolong his stay in the capital, nor to undertake any daring enterprise: he merely marched through the town, and proceeded homeward, agreeably to his original intention. Aureng-Zebe was full of inquietude as to the probable proceedings of Jessomseingue, and expected to hear of a revolution at Agra.
2.14.3
He, therefore, scarcely followed Sultan Sujah in his retreat, but directed his rapid steps to the capital with the whole of his army. He soon learnt, however, that the troops whom he had just encountered, and who suffered little or no diminution of numbers in the late action, were daily receiving considerable accession of strength from the different Rajas whose territories were situated on both sides of the Ganges, and who were induced to give their assistance on the strength of the reputation Sultan Sujah had for wealth and liberality. He found also that his brother was establishing himself in Elabas, that important and celebrated passage of the Ganges, and justly considered the key of Bengale. Under these circumstances, it occurred to Aureng-Zebe that he had two persons near him very capable of rendering him assistance — his eldest son, and Emir-Jemla; but he knew that those who have rendered essential service to their Prince often become inflated with the idea that no recompence is too great for them. He already perceived that Sultan Mahmoud betrayed impatience of paternal control, and was continually presuming on the skill and prowess he had displayed in the capture of the citadel of Agra, whereby all the plans of Chah-Jehan had been baffled. In regard to the Emir, the Prince fully appreciated his transcendent talents, his conduct, and his courage;
2.14.4
but these very excellencies filled him with apprehension and distrust: for the Emir's great riches, and the reputation he possessed of being the prime mover in all affairs of importance, and the most acute statesman in India, left no doubt on the mind of Aureng-Zebe that the expectations of this extraordinary man were as high as those of Sultan Mahmoud. These considerations would have disconcerted an ordinary mind; but Aureng-Zebe knew how to remove these two personages to a distance from the court with so much address that neither the one nor the other felt any cause of complaint. He sent them at the head of a powerful army against Sultan Sujah, giving the Emir to understand not only that the valuable government of Bengale was intended for him during life, but that he should be succeeded therein by his son. He added that this was but one mark of the sense he entertained of his great services : when he had defeated Sujah he should be created Mir-ul-omrah [Amir-ul-Umara] ; the first and most honourable title in Hindoustan, signifying Prince of the Omrahs. To Sultan Mahmoud he addressed only these few words : ' Remember that you are the eldest of my children, and that you are going to fight your own battles. You have done much; and yet, properly speaking, you cannot be said to have done anything until the projects of Sultan Sujah be defeated, and you become master of his person : he is the most formidable of our adversaries.'
2.14.5
Aureng-Zebe then presented both the Emir and Sultan Mahmoud with the customary seraphas, or rich vests, a few horses and elephants, superbly caparisoned, and contrived to retain at court his son's wife (the King of Golconda's daughter) and Emir-Jemla's only son Mahmet Emir-kan; the former, because the presence of so distinguished a woman might embarrass the operations of the army ; the latter, because he was partial to the youth, and wished to superintend his education : but he viewed them doubtless in the light of hostages for the fidelity of the two commanders. Sultan Sujah was continually in dread that the Rajas of Lower Bengale, who had reason to complain of his exactions, would be excited to insurrection against his authority. He was, therefore, no sooner apprised of these arrangements than he broke up his camp at Elabas, and marched to Benares and Patna, and afterwards to Moguiere, a small town on the Ganges, commonly called the Key of the Kingdom of Bengale, forming a species of strait between the mountains and a forest which is contiguous to the town. He made this movement from an apprehension that it was meant to cut off his retreat, and that Emir- Jemla would cross the river either above or below Elabas. Intending to make a stand at Moguiere, he threw up fortifications and cut a deep trench (which I saw some years afterwards) extending from the town and the river to the mountains.
2.14.6
In this strong position he resolved to wait the approach of his enemy, and dispute the passage of the Ganges. He was, however, greatly mortified when informed that the troops which were slowly descending the banks of the river were designed merely for a feint; that Emir-Jemla was not with them; but that having gained over the Rajas whose territories lay among the mountains, on the right of the river, he and Sultan Mahmoud were marching with the utmost speed across those mountains toward Rage-Mehalle, accompanied by the flower of the army, evidently with the object of shutting him out from Bengale. He was constrained, therefore, to abandon all the fortifications erected with so much care: yet notwithstanding that his march was much lengthened by the necessity of following the various bends of the Ganges, still he arrived at Rage-Mehalle some days before the Emir. Time was afforded him to throw up entrenchments; because, when the combined commanders perceived that Sultan Sujah could not be prevented from occupying Rage-Mehalle, they inclined on the left toward the Ganges, through almost impracticable paths, for the purpose of receiving the troops, heavy artillery and baggage, which were coming down the river. When this object was accomplished, they proceeded to the attack of Sultan Sujah, who defended his position during five or six days with considerable success;
2.14.7
but perceiving that the ceaseless fire of the Emir's artillery ruined his fortifications, which consisted only of made earth, sand, and fascines, and that the approaching rains would render his position still less tenable, he withdrew under favour of the night, leaving behind him two larges pieces of ordnance. The fear of some ambuscade deterred the enemy from pursuing him that night, and before break of day the rain descended so violently that no idea could be entertained of quitting Rage-Mehalle. Happily for Sultan Sujah, the shower that fell so opportunely, was the commencement of those incessant and heavy rains with which the country is visited in the months of July, August, September, and October. They render the roads so difficult that no army can act offensively during their prevalence; and upon the present occasion the Emir was obliged to put his troops into winter-quarters at Rage-Mehalle; while Sujah remained at liberty to choose the place of his retreat, and to reinforce his army. A large number of Portuguese came to him from Lower Bengale, bringing with them several pieces of cannon. The great fertility of the soil attracts many Europeans to these parts, and it was Sultan Sujah's policy to encourage and conciliate the foreigners settled in this province. He particularly favoured the Portuguese Missionary Fathers, holding out a prospect of future wealth to them all, and promising to build churches wheresoever they might desire to have them erected.
2.14.8
Indeed these people were capable of rendering the Prince essential service; the Frankish families residing in the kingdom of Bengale, whether half-caste or of Portuguese birth, amounting to eight or nine thousand, at the lowest computation.