The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c20.25

c20.25

*Emperor’s conveyance and usages on his passing by.* Shāh ʿĀlam Bahādur Shāh (1707—1712) generally travelled his stages on a moving throne (*takht-i-rawān*). It is described by Bernier, 370. Another account, *Seir*, ii, 171, note 95, tells us it was a chair resting on two straight bambus or poles and carried on the shoulders of eight men. Two or three persons could find place in it, and it had not only a canopy over it, but an awning in front to intercept the glare of the sun. Preceding the moving throne were the *yasāwals* (Steingass, 1531), whose business it was to preserve order (*Maʿlūmāt-ul-āfāq*, fol. 79*b*). Sometimes Bahādur Shāh mounted a horse, but he does not seem to have ridden on an elephant except in the battle field.