The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c26.10

c26.10

*Sābāt*. According to the dictionary this is "a covered passage connecting two houses"; and as a military term it means a trench or approach made in besieging a fortress. According to Briggs, "Firishtah", ii, 230 (siege of Chitor) the *sābāt* were constructed in the following manner. "The zigzags, commencing at gunshot distance from the fort, consist of a double wall, and by means of blinds or stuffed gabions covered with leather, the besiegers continue their approaches till they arrive near to the walls of the place to be attacked”. There is another passage to the same effect with reference to the year 1595 and the siege of Ahmadnagar.