Later Mughals v1.c8.s13.12

v1.c8.s13.12

On the 15th Zul Qada (13th December, 1712) a move of six or seven miles was made to Talpat. Here the puerile expedient was hit upon of writing long appeals for aid to Rajah Ajit Singh Rathor, of Jodhpur, and the other Rajput chieftains. There was no time left for any such help; the issue must be decided, one way or the other, long before any of the Rajputs could arrive upon the scene. On the 16th the camp was pitched at Faridabad, about sixteen miles south of the city, and two days were allowed for the arrival of stragglers. Two days were passed at Sikri. On the 21st (19th December, 1712) the army was at Palwal, and there the final muster was made. The force reported was 100,000 men, horsemen, matchlockmen, and bowmen. Their tents covered a circle of about eight miles in circumference.† By daily marches Agra was reached on the 1st Zul Hijja (29th December, 1712), and their first encampment was at Bagh Dahra, three miles south of the city. Prince Azz-ud-din came out of the city and joined his father. Churaman, the Jat, to whom many flattering promises had been made, joined with a large number of men from his own tribe. Efforts were now made to unearth the buried treasure in the fort of Agra. Many doorways were opened but nothing was found, and there was no time to conduct an effective search. Some ingots of copper were discovered, which had been lying there since Akbar began to build the fort and had prepared these copper bricks for use in the walls. These were now sold off in order to pay some of Jahandar Shah’s men.‡