Storia do Mogor 210.2.5

210.2.5

All soldiers, high and low, generals and captains, are forced to give surety, and without it they cannot obtain employment. This practice is so common and so general that even the princes find it necessary to conform to the custom. Whenever the king, or some commander in his name, wants to raise soldiers, infantry or cavalry, it is not necessary to make any great stir. For a thousand at a time will attend to take service, and of these the best are chosen. This applies as much to the cavalry as to the infantry; still, there are more who present themselves for the latter service than the former. When the horse of a trooper dies, he must on the same day bring the hide with the brand and the other marks on it for inspection of the officer in charge of that duty. He is given seven days to buy another, otherwise his pay is reduced. Twice a year the bachi (bakhshī), the chief commander of cavalry, holds a review of all the cavalry present at court, examines all the horses, and sees whether any of them are old and unfit for service. In the latter case he makes the owners get rid of them and buy others. Throughout the empire there are similar officers bearing the same name, and these are required each in his locality to perform the same duty. When the king dispatches any officer, it is necessary for him to appear at the head of his troops and show them in review order on the river-bank below the royal palace, and three days after that he is bound to start.