Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c38.s6.1

v3.c38.s6.1

The crisis came on 16th October. Early at dawn Latāfat and Pauli marched† with their troops against Qamr-ud-din's mansion where Shafi lived. The Emperor himself rode out to the Jāmi‘ Masjid in order to lend his blessing to the attack. Shafi wisely decided not to resist his sovereign. He fled away towards Agra, taking Abdul Ahad with him, but in his hurry forgetting Najaf Quli, who was promptly set free by Latāfat. All the artillery and material left behind were plundered, but none of the victors ventured to touch Khadija Begam, in spite of the Emperor’s wrath against her. Shah Alam now dismissed Shafi from his offices and recalled Afrāsiyāb to Court. Days passed in fruitless negotiations, but Khadija Begam continued to hold out in Najaf Khan’s mansion with the loyal support of her late brother’s gunners under Ashur Ali Khan.