Later Mughals v1.c9.s33.1

v1.c9.s33.1

On the 27th Rabi I. 1131 H. (16th Feb. 1719) Husain Ali Khan at the head of his army, estimated to include 30,000 horsemen, marched to Wazirabad, one of the imperial hunting preserves about four miles north of the city, on the Jamuna bank.† As they passed, his troops plundered the shops and trod down, in the most merciless manner, the standing crops in the fields outside the city. By this time he had often been heard to say, that as he no longer considered himself to be in the imperial service, why should he respect the rules of etiquette; the sovereign's anger, or the loss of rank having no terrors left for him. Disregarding the rules forbidding the playing of the naubat within one mile of the capital, he marched in with sovereign state, kettle-drums beating and clarions sounding. His fear fell on the hearts of all men, great and small. Farrukh-siyar was so overwhelmed with apprehension that he took no notice of this transgression; and persisting in his senseless conduct, he forwarded daily messages to the haughty rebel in soft and flattering words, with presents of fruit, betel and scent. Husain Ali Khan's pride increased in proportion, and to all these overtures he returned nothing but harsh answers. Still Farrukh-siyar's advisers persuaded him that all this rigour and this ill-temper were assumed, and merely intended by Husain Ali Khan to increase his own importance, without betokening anything more serious.*