Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 2.6.1

2.6.1

Morad-Bakche was disappointed in the amount of treasure found in Sourate; perhaps it had been exaggerated by report; or the governor, as was generally suspected, had appropriated a large portion of it to his own use. The money of which he came into possession only sufficed to pay the soldiers, who had been induced to enlist by the expectation of the immense wealth which the walls of Sourate were believed to enclose. Nor ought the capture of the town to have increased the military reputation of this Prince: for, although destitute of regular fortifications, it yet baffled his utmost endeavours for more than a month: and he had made no progress in the siege until the Dutch instructed him, for the first time, in the art of mining. The blowing up of a considerable part of the wall spread consternation in the garrison, and terms of capitulation were immediately proposed.