Later Mughals v1.c10.s13: Sec. 13.—Surrender of Agra Fort and of Nekusiyar.
Later Mughals v1.c10.s13
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Sec. 13.—Surrender of Agra Fort and of Nekusiyar.
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At length on the 27th Ramzan 1131 H.* (12th August, 1719) the garrison surrendered. Ghairat Khan was sent in with a force to take possession, while Rajah Muhkam Singh and Samandar Khan brought out Nekusiyar and his other nephew, Baba Mughal.† At the gate of the fort the two Princes were placed on elephants and escorted to the camp. A great crowd had assembled to see them, through which they passed with hanging heads, looking neither to the right nor to the left. As they dismounted, Husain Ali Khan advanced to greet them and conducted them to the tent already allotted to Mirza Asghari. There they were made to sit on one carpet of honour (masnad), while the Bakhshi stood before them humbly, with folded hands. But Nekusiyar, whose life had been passed in the harem, rose at once, and in the dialect used by women began to beg and pray for his life, accompanying his words by prostrations utterly opposed to usage. Anxious to maintain the usual decorum, the Nawab took his hand, and remonstrating, said, "Let your mind be at rest, and count this place as your own. Until this time you were in the hands of infidels." Nekusiyar uttered bitter complaints against those who had made use of him for their own purposes; and asked that some eunuch might be sent at once to allay the terror of his mother and the other women, by informing them of the kind reception he and his nephew had received. They were then furnished with carpets, pillows and other necessaries.*
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∗ It is the 29th Ramzan in Muhammad Qasim, 289, and so also in the Tabsirat-un-nazirin, year 1131 H., p. 129, where is to be found Abdul-jalil's qasida in honour of the occasion. The poet was present on the spot.
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† Baba Mughal is, I suppose, the same as the Prince called Fath-ul-mubin by Kamraj, Ibratnama, fol. 69b.
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Before the imperial soldiers could seize him, Mitr Sen had made an end of himself by plunging a dagger into his own breast. While still a little breath was left in the body, the soldiers, to prove their zeal, lifted it up and carried it into the presence of Husain Ali Khan. He ordered them to sever the head from the body and send it to Qutb-ul-mulk. For three days the drums were beaten in honour of the victory, and in the end Nekusiyar was sent to Dihli to be placed with the other captive Princes in Salimgarh : he died there on the 6th Rajab 1135 H. (11th March, 1723) and was buried at the Qutb.†
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† Burhan-us-safa, 167b; Kamwar Khan, 208; Khafi Khan, 837; Tarikh-i-Mhdi., year 1135; Siwanih-i-Khizri, p. 3.
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The next pressing work was to obtain possession of the hoards of treasure and other property. Husain Ali Khan in person proceeded to the fort, where he placed Haidar Quli Khan in general charge, and Ghairat Khan was told off to search for treasure. Trusty men were placed as sentries at the gates and no one, whether belonging to the army or not, was allowed to pass without being strictly searched. Ancient treasurers and guards of Alamgir’s time, who had long left the service, were summoned from their homes. By much urging and the offer of rewards they were induced to point out the underground store-houses. In one place thirty-five lakhs of tanka minted in the time of Sikandar Lodi (1488-1516) were recovered ; and in another seventy-eight lakhs of Shah Jahan’s silver coinage, with ten thousand gold coins of Akbar’s reign. The papers of account were also recovered. These showed that the money had been placed by Alamgir in the custody of Shaista Khan, Amir-ul-umara ; but upon that Emperor’s death in the Dakhin, no further notice had been taken of these hoards. They were not discovered in Bahadur Shah’s or Jahandar Shah’s time. In the wardrobe were a shawl studded with jewels which had belonged to Nur Jahan Begam, a sword used by the Emperor Jahangir, and the sheet sprinkled with pearls which Shah Jahan caused to be prepared for the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. One valuation puts the property at 1,80,00,000 Rupees (£1,800,000), 1,40,00,000 Rupees in cash and the rest in goods. Khafi Khan puts it still higher, namely, at two to three krors of Rupees (£2,000,000 to £3,000,000).*
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∗ Kamwar 208, Shiu Das 30b, Khafi Khan 836, Qasim 289.