Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c15.s8.16

v1.c15.s8.16

That very night, about 9 p.m., a clamour rose in the fort that the wazir was coming to enter it with a large force. At this rumour all the mansabdars and imperial servants took up arms and stood in defence of their ruler. The Emperor ordered the artillery captains to go outside the fort and take post before it. Abu Turāb Khan, the qiladar, fled from the fort in great agitation to the wazir. The alarm was entirely false, but it had done its work; Safdar Jang's agent had been peacefully expelled from the palace. A great tumult raged in the city throughout that night, and of king, wazir, soldiers, citizens and palace servants not one man could sleep. The guns on the fort walls were loaded and trained on Safdar Jang's house (the former mansion of Dara Shukoh) which they commanded.