BOOK V. A. D. 1545. Kámrán no resistance; and Kábul, and all its provinces south of the Hindu-kúsh range, submitted to him. He published a general amnesty, and spent the winter in the citadel, busily engaged in settling the civil and financial affairs of the country, and in administering justice. The mother of Akber having arrived in the spring from Kandahár, under the escort of Yádgár Násir Mirza, the circumcision of Akber was celebrated by a magnificent festival, at the conclusion of which the Emperor bestowed khiláts and rewards on the most distinguished of his adherents. The government of Ghazni was conferred on Hindal; and Ulugh Mírza, who had returned from the pursuit of Kámrán, was confirmed in that of Zemín-dáwer, which had been given him in addition to Tírí and the adjoining districts. Meanwhile Kámrán, having escaped from the pursuit flies to Sind. of Hindal who was not anxious to seize him, approached Ghazni, but was refused admittance into the town. He now threw himself on the protection of Khizer Khan Hazára, who carried him, first to Tírí, and then to Zemín-dáwer, whence, after some vain efforts to fix himself in that country, he was finally compelled so take refuge in Sind. † tory embas máyun. Congratula- During this period of tranquillity, the Emperor resies to Hu-ceived the congratulations of several of the neighouring princes, on his having recovered his father's throne. An embassy from Shah Tahmasp, at the head of which was Valad Beg, was magnificently entertained, though it made little progress in the grand object for which it was sent the restoration of Kandahár to the Shah. A similar embassy from Mírza Suleimán, the prince of Badakhshan, was less favourably received, as the Mírza declined the Emperor's invitation to wait upon him, or, in other words, declined acknowledging his immediate authority. Mír Syed Ali, a chief whose influence was Akbernáma, f. 66—70.; Tab. Akb. ff.158-160.; Tar. Niz. ff.197, 198.; Bayezíd, ff. 17—22.; Jou her, c. 18, 19.; Ferishta, vol. ii. pp. 158—160.; Tar. Bed. ff. 184, 185. SECT. I. great and extensive among the Afgháns and Balúches, CHAP. III. also waited upon the Emperor at this period, and received the government of Duki *, dependant on Hindustán on which it borders, and not far from his own residence. Lawang Balúch, another of the principal Balúch chiefs, having also acknowledged the Emperor, was rewarded with the country of Shál and Mustung. These chiefs, we are told, no sooner received these honours, than they took their leave, fearing that the air of the city, and the habits of city life might affect the health of their followers, accustomed only to their own wastes and wilds. Mirza im Yádgár Násir Mírza, Humáyun's cousin, had not Yádgár・ been long returned from escorting the imperial household from Kandahár, when he was charged with entering into new intrigues and cabals, with Askeri Mirza and others, against the Emperor. Humayun had probably brought with him from Persia a resolution to beat down all who could be his rivals, and, in particular, to reduce the power of the princes of the blood, which, in the former part of his reign, had been productive of so many mischiefs. But he seems to have proceeded with unusual caution, probably to carry along with him the approbation of the old and powerful nobles connected with his family, and of his followers in general. Thirty distinct articles of accusation were brought against Yádgár, some of them for instances of disrespect to his Majesty; but the leading one was that, when in Sind, Shah Husein Mírza had offered him Bheker on condition of his deserting the Emperor, to which he had agreed, whereby the Emperor had been obliged to retire into Irák. On the present occasion, witnesses were examined, and evidences taken, in a manner, of which we find few examples in Asiatic history; and he is said to have been convicted by the testimony of * Duki was probably dependant on Multán. BOOK V. impartial men of veracity, as well as of his own acA. D. 1546. complices. Some parts of the accusation he denied; as Humayun sets out for Badakh shán. of A. H. 953. to others he was silent. He was found guilty; and Humayun informed him, through Kerácha Khan, that since, after being so often pardoned, he had engaged anew in rebellious intrigues, he must expect no farther favour. He was accordingly thrown into prison in the Bála-Hissár, in a house near that in which Askeri was confined. Humáyun, being now the undisputed sovereign of the countries to the south of the Hindu-kúsh range, turned his attention to such provinces, on the north of these mountains, as still acknowledged the supremacy of Kábul. These, besides Badakhshán, consisted of Kunduz, Khost, Anderáb, and some other districts lying between the mountains and the Amu. Not content with Badakhshán, Mírza Suleimán had wrested from Kámrán these provinces, which formed no part of that principality, and seemed little disposed to part with them on the reBeginning quisition of the Emperor. In the spring of 1546, therefore, Humayun, resolving to chastise him, marched out of Kábul, and encamped in the Yúret-Chálák. To prevent intrigues in his absence, he resolved to carry Askeri along with him. But after he had proceeded as far as the valley of Kárábágh, aware of the danger of leaving behind him so restless and turbulent a spirit as Yádgár Násir Mírza, he resolved, in the words of his historian, to release the body of that prince from the pains of existence, and to put himself at ease.' He sent an order to that effect to Muhammed Ali Taghái, whom he had left governor of Kábul. "How should I put to death the Mírza," said that good man, "I, who never killed a sparrow?" The Emperor, upon this, devolved the duty upon Muhammed Kásim Mochi, who strangled the Mírza with a bowstring. He was buried on a rising ground opposite to the gate of the citadel, near a piece of water; and, after a time, his remains Yádgár Mirza put to death. SECT. I. The army of Badakh Humayun. were taken up and carried to Kazvín, where they were CHAP. III. deposited in his father, Násir Mírza's, tomb.* Humáyunt, having crossed the mountains, reached Anderáb, where, at the village of Tírkerán, he found shán deMirza Suleimán with a considerable army, strongly feated by entrenched, and prepared to check his advance. The Emperor, determined to force his position, sent on Mirza Hindal, with Haji Muhammed Khan, Kerácha Khan, and a strong body of troops, himself following to support them. The advance made a gallant attack on the fortified camp, as soon as they reached it; but the Badakhshan archers, who were posted behind the trenches, did great execution, and killed or dismounted numbers of the assailants. Among those who most distinguished themselves on this occasion, were a party of the Persian Korchi, or cuirassier body-guard, who accompanied the ambassador, and took a part in the action. The contest was long doubtful, till a party of hardy veterans, by a desperate effort, forced their way across the ditch, surmounted the trench, and sabred the archers behind it, who had done such execution. In a short time after this success, the whole army of Badakhshan was broken and put to flight. Suleimán, abandoning his new territory, fled along the Bángi river and by Nárín, Ishkemish and Talikán, towards the broken glens of Khost. Mírza Beg Birlás, who had commanded his archers, and some others of his principal chiefs, surrendered to Humáyun. The Aimáks who were made prisoners were dismissed, uninjured. Hindal * Akbernáma, f. 69.; Bayezíd, f. 22.; Tab. Akberi, f. 160. His Sometime before setting out on this expedition, on leaving a drinking party after midnight, Humáyun happened to stumble. butler (Mír Sámán) Khwaja Jiláled-din Mahmúd, expressed his regret that his Majesty should have taken any thing that exposed him to such accidents. Struck with the BOOK V. Mírza was sent in pursuit of the fugitives; while A. P. 1546. Humayun himself advanced by the pass of Sháshán into the valley of Khost, where he spent some days in the amusements of fishing and fowling, for which the place is celebrated, as well as for its fruits. The The coun- country around submitted, and Suleimán was compelled to seek shelter beyond the Amu, in Kuláb, and the upper districts of Khutlán.* try submits. illness of Affairs being in this prosperous state, Humayun moved to Kishem, where he spent three or four months, and divided among the Amírs his late conquests. Badakhshan and Kunduz he gave to Mírza Hindal; the collectorate of Khost was given to Monaim Beg, and that of Talikán to Bápus. The more effectually to settle the country of Badakhshán, to secure the quiet of the peasantry, and to rest the army, Humáyun resolved to pass the winter in Kila Zefer, towards which he Pangerous directed his march. But on arriving at the village of Humayun. Sháhdán, between Kishem and that town, he was seized with a violent illness, which, for two months, prevented him from leaving the place. At the beginning of the disease he was for four days insensible. Reports of his death, or of its near approach, were, in consequence, spread and believed. Officers of every rank left their posts, and consulted together as to the line of their future conduct. Among the rest, Mírza Hindal himself left his government of Kunduz, and advanced from Rostak, where he had been, up the Kokcha river, one of the chief branches of the Amu, on which Kila-Zefer stands, prepared to assert his right to the vacant throne. Signs of disorder and insubordination appeared on every side. The Amírs of Suleimán, who had fled into the higher districts of the mountains, gaining confidence, began to descend, and overrun the country. At this trying crisis Kerácha Khan, the prime minister, con * Akbernáma, f. 69.; Bayezíd, ff. 25, 26.; Tar. Niz. f. 197. |