Later Mughals v1.c9.s40: Section 42.—Character of Farrukh-siyar.
Later Mughals v1.c9.s40
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Section 42.—Character of Farrukh-siyar.
v1.c9.s40.1
The most prominent element of Farrukh-siyar's character was weakness. He was strong neither for evil nor for good. Morally it may be indefensible to try and rid yourself, at the earliest moment, of the men to whom you owe your throne. But as a matter of practice and precedent it was otherwise. Many of his predecessors, including the greatest of them, Akbar, had been guilty of similar ingratitude. Thus, according to the morality of his day and country, Farrukh-siyar would have committed no exceptional crime by dismissing, or even killing the Sayyids. Previous rulers, however, men of vigour and resolution, when they found the greatness of some subject becoming dangerous to themselves, acted with promptitude and decision. The crisis was soon over, and though the individual might be destroyed the State did not suffer. How different with Farrukh-siyar! Still, in spite of his inherent weakness, he might have shown himself amiably inoffensive; he might have left his powerful ministers to pursue peacefully their own way, contenting himself with the name, while they kept the reality of power. Instead of this, he was for ever letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would." For seven years the State was in a condition of unstable equilibrium, and it is not too much to say that Farrukh-siyar prepared for himself the fate which finally overtook him. Feeble, false, cowardly, contemptible, it is impossible either to admire or regret him. According to Khush-hal Chand, [410a] Farrukh-siyar in the sixth year of his reign was forced, in consequence of the abscesses which troubled him, to submit to an operation that rendered him impotent. Physical degeneration, it is suggested, may have been one of the causes of the irresolution, and even cowardice, which he displayed during the final struggle with the Sayyids.
v1.c9.s40.2
His most amiable qualities were profuseness and liberality, which made him the darling of the lower orders. Among his personal habits two were especially marked—a fondness for fine clothes and for good horses. He loved gold-embroidered raiment edged with gold lace, such as the sovereign himself had never worn before. All the great nobles imitated him and began to wear what pleased their master. Thus he was at any rate mourned by the lace-sellers and the indigent. As for horses, he chose them with care, for their fine paces, their colour, and their great speed. Several thousand horses stood in his private stables, and a select number of them were tethered under the balcony window of the room where he slept. Thus he was able from time to time to see them from this window, or the roof of the palace. Even when in bed asleep, if a horse rose up and lay down two or three times, he would be roused and enquire the reason, calling both the animal and its groom by their names. The Khan-saman or Lord Steward had strict orders about their food. Once Muhammad Yar Khan, when holding that office, reported that the quantities issued were in excess of the regulations. Farrukh-siyar directed him to pay up to the amount of one gold coin a day for each of these horses, and not to report until that amount was exceeded. [Khush-hal 410a.]
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In the *Ahwal-ul-khawaqin* is a passage describing the early intimacy between Farrukh-siyar and Khan Dauran (Khwaja Asim), where we are told that the Prince was passionately fond of wrestling, archery, horsemanship, polo-playing, and other soldierly exercises. His devotion to hunting and the chase is shown by the regularity with which, throughout his reign, he left Dihli to hunt or shoot in the imperial preserves situated at various distances round the city. [Ahwal 49b.]
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The only well-known edifice constructed in his reign was a third arch of marble to the mosque at the Qutb, added in 1130 H. It bears the inscription. *Maurid-i-lutf o inayat shud wala-janab,* *Khusrau, Farrukh-siyar, shahanshahi, malik-i-rikab,* *Sakht az rue iradat o zi rasukh-i-itiqad* *Masjid-i-zeba-bina o sijdah-gahe shekh o shabb* *Ba sarosh-i-ghaib hatif guft dar gosh-i-khirad* *Sal-i-tarikh-i-binaesh ; "bait-i-rabbi-i-mustajab."*