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out Nekūsiyar and his other nephew, Bābā Mughal.1 At the gate of the fort the two princes were placed on elephants and escorted to the camp. A great crowd had assembled to see them, through which they passed with hanging heads, looking neither to the right nor to the left. As they dismounted, Husain 'Ali Khan advanced to greet them and conducted them to the tent already allotted to Mirza Asghari. There they were made to sit on one carpet of honour (masnad), while the Bakhshi stood before them humbly, with folded hands. But Neküsiyar, whose life had been passed in the harem, rose at once, and in the dialect used by women began to beg and pray for his life, accompanying his words by prostrations utterly opposed to usage. Anxious to maintain the usual decorum, the nawab took his hand, and remonstrating, said, "Let your mind be at rest, and count this place as your own. Until this time you were in the hands of infidels." Nekūsīyar uttered bitter complaints against those who had made use of him for their own purposes; and asked that some eunuch might be sent at once to allay the terror of his mother and the other women, by informing them of the kind reception he and his nephews had received. They were then furnished with carpets, pillows and other necessaries.2

Before the imperial soldiers could seize him, Mitr Sen had made an end of himself by plunging a dagger into his own breast. While still a little breath was left in the body, the soldiers, to prove their zeal, lifted it up and carried it into the presence of Husain 'Alı Kḥān. He ordered them to sever the head from the body and send it to Qutb-ulmulk. For three days the drums were beaten in honour of the victory, and in the end Nekūsiyar was sent to Dihli to be placed with the other captive princes in Salimgarh: he died there on the 6th Rajab 1135 H. (11th March, 1723) and was buried at the Qutb.3

The next pressing work was to obtain possession of the hoards of treasure and other property. Ḥusain 'Ali Khān in person proceeded to the fort, where he placed Haidar Quli Khan in general charge, and Ghairat Khan was told off to search for treasure. Trusty men were placed as sentries at the gates and no one, whether belonging to the army or not, was allowed to pass without being strictly searched. Ancient treasurers and guards of 'Alamgir's time, who had long left the service, were summoned from their homes. By much urging and the offer 1 Bābā Mughal is, I suppose, the same as the prince called Fath-ul-mubin by Kām Rāj, ‘Ibratnāmah, fol. 69b.

2 Kāmwar Khān, 208, Shiū ¡Dās 30b, Khāfĩ Khān, II, 836, Muḥammad Qāsim, Lāhorī, 289.

3 Burhān-uṣ-ṣafā, 167b, Kāmwar Khan, 208, Khāfi Khan, II, 837, Tārīkh-iMḥdi, year 1135, Siwaniḥ-i- Khizrī, p. 3.

J. I. 7

1

of rewards they were induced to point out the underground storehouses. In one place thirty-five lakhs of tankah minted in the time of Sikandar Lodi (1488-1516) were recovered; and in another seventyeight lakhs of Shahjahan's silver coinage, with ten thousand gold coins of Akbar's reign. The papers of account were also recovered. These showed that the money had been placed by 'Alamgir in the custody of Shaistah Khan, Amir-ul-umarā; but upon that emperor's death in the Dakhin, no further notice had been taken of these hoards. They were not discovered in Bahadur Shah's or Jahandar Shah's time. In the wardroble was a shawl studded with jewels which had belonged to Nur Jahan Begam, a sword used by the Emperor Jahangir, and the sheet sprinkled with pearls which Shahjahan caused to be prepared for the tomb of Mumtaz Maḥal. One valuation puts the property at 1,80,00,000 rupees (£1,800,000), 1,40,00,000 rupees in cash and the rest in goods. Khafi Khan puts it still higher, namely, at two to three krors of rupees (£2,000,000 to £3,000,000).1 SECTION 6.-THE EMPEROR AND QUTB-UL-MULK START FROM DIHLI FOR AGRAH.

When news was received at Dihli that Jai Singh had so far declared himself as to move out from Amber in the direction of Biānah and Agrah, 'Abdullah Khan decided upon taking the field with the emperor in person. Accordingly the advance tents were sent out to Masjid-i-Moth, a distance of three kos, on the 26th Sha'ban 1131 H. (13th July, 1719). Sayyad Khān Jahan2 was left in charge of the city and the palace. On the 28th the emperor visited the Qutb and next day he marched to Khizrābād. After three more marches they reached Sikri on the 8th Ramazan (24th July, 1719), and the rain being very heavy, a halt was made for two or three days. On the 19th Ramazan (4th August, 1719) they were between Karabkah and Kori; and here Rājah Ajit Singh received permission to proceed to Mathurā to bathe in the Ganges. At the stage of Kosi, about thirty miles north-west of Mathura, it was decided, from reasons of prudence, not to march straight towards Amber, but to keep more to the left and make for Fathpur Sikri. One camp was at Kurāoli, eight kos from Agrah; thence the wazir and his brother moved to Fathpur, eight or nine miles farther to the west.3

1 Mḥd. Qasim, Lāhorī, 292, Shiū Dās, 306, Khāfi Khan, II, 837, Siwāniḥ-iKhizri, p. 3.

2 Khăn Jahān died on the 12th Shawwal 1132 H. (16th August, 1720).

3 Mḥd. Qāsim, 282, 283, Kāmwar Khan, 209, Khafi Khan, II, 833, Kam Rāj, Ibratnamah, 70a. Masjid-i-Moth, see ante, chapt. 4, Farrukhsiyar's reign. It

SECTION 7.-FURRAKḤSIYAR'S WIDOW IS MADE OVER TO HER FATHER, Ajit SINGH.

At the time of setting out from Dihli, Ajit Singh had been appointed to command the vanguard. Thereupon he commenced to make excuses, on the ground that if he left his daughter, Farrukhsiyar's widow, behind him, she would either poison herself or her name and fame would be assailed. Yielding to these pleas, 'Abdullah Khān made the lady over to her father. She performed a ceremony of purification in the Hindu fashion, and gave up her Mahomedan attire. Then, with all her property, estimated to exceed 1,00,00,000 rupees (£1,000,000) in value, she was sent off to her native country of Jodhpur. Great indignation was felt by the Mahomedans, especially by the more bigoted class of those learned in the law. The gāzi issued a ruling that the giving back of a convert was entirely opposed to Mahomedan law. But, in spite of this opposition, 'Abdullah Khan insisted on conciliating Ajit Singh, although on no previous occasion had a Rajput princess been restored to her own people after she had once entered the imperial harem.1

SECTION 8.-THE EMPEROR AND 'ABDULLAH KHAN MARCH TOWARDS AGRAH.

When Husain 'Ali Khan learnt that his brother had left the capital, a movement undertaken without his previous knowledge, he wrote an urgent remonstrance. He begged that no advance might be made into Rājah Jai Singh's country, for he had already taken all the precautions that were necessary. His bakhshi, Sayyad Dilawar ‘Ali Khān, with Mir Mushrif and Zafar Khan, Turrah-i-baz, had been sent early in the rains to reduce a fort called Fathpur, held by Khāmā, Jāṭ. This force had now been directed to block the way to Rajah Jai Singh, and nothing more was required in that direction. ‘Abdullah Khan might either encamp where he was, or come on to Agrah.2

On the 27th Ramazan (12th August, 1719) a messenger brought word to' Abdullah Khan that his brother had just obtained possession of Agrah fort, and was then busied in appropriating its contents to his

lies about 5 miles south of the Dihli gate of the city, and on the road to the Qutb. Khizrābād lies east of Moth ki Masjid and nearer the Jamnah, see ante. For Kosi see Indian Atlas, sheet No. 49, and Thornton, 523; it is 29 m. N.W. of Mathura, lat. 27° 48′, long. 77° 29′. Kori and Karahkat I cannot trace on the Indian Atlas. Luraoli is on sheet No. 50, about 15 m. west of Agrah.

1 Siwāniḥ-i-Khizri, Khafi Khan, II, 833.

2 Muḥammad Qāsim, Lāhorī, 283.

own use. Although the victory was a cause of rejoicing, the thought of exclusion from his share of the booty depressed the wazir's mind. An immediate advance was resolved upon. On the 29th Ramazan (14th August, 1719) the camp was at Sarsi, and on the 11th Shawwal (26th August, 1719) at Ol, where Ajit Singh rejoined from Mathura. On the 17th of that month they reached the village of Bidyapur, not far from Fathpur Sikri.1

On the 19th Shawwal (4th September, 1719) a report was received that Ḥusain 'Ali Khan was near Kurãoli on his way from Agrah with Nekūsiyar and the other captives. Next day he arrived, and one day after his arrival he was presented in audience. The quarrel which had broken out between the brothers over the booty taken at Agrah, was here made up through the exertions of Rajah Ratn Cand. 'Abdullah Khan received twenty-one, or, as १ some say, twenty-eight lakhs of rupees, a sum which was supposed to represent his half-share, after all the expenses of the campaign had been deducted. The sword of Jahangir and the shawl of Nur Jahan were retained by the Emperor, but the rest of the booty was granted to the two brothers.8

SECTION 9.-ILLNESS AND DEATH OF RAFI'-UD-DAULAH,

Rafi'-ud-daulah turned out to be as sickly and weakly as his brother and predecessor, being like him given to excess in the use of opium. On ascending the throne he gave up the habit, but the sudden abstinence produced diarrhoea. About the time that he started from Dihli he fell seriously ill. Accusations of poison are freely made by some writers, notably by Kamwar Khan: but this man's views on the subject can be readily accounted for. He had risen in the service of Rafi'-ush-shan, the father of this and the previous emperor, and naturally he expected much personal benefit from their coming to the throne. In this he was entirely disappointed. From fear of the Sayyads, the two princes had discouraged the applications of their own dependants, such as Kamwar Khan, and by reason of their shortlived tenure of the throne such hopes of preferment were dashed to the

1 Kāmwar Khan, 208. Sarsi I cannot trace; Ol is on the Indian Atlas, sheet 50, as Ou, about 27 m. N.W. of Agrah and about 15 m. S.W. of Mathurā. Bidyāpur is not traceable on the Indian Atlas map; it was the birth-place of Khizr Khān, Pannī, the hero of the Siwāniḥ-i-Khizri so often quoted. Through the kindness of Mr. H. W. W. Reynolds, C.S., Commissioner of Agrah, I learn that it is opposite mile-stone No. 17 on the metalled road from Agrah to Fathpur Sikri. For Kurāoli see ante; it is about 15 miles W. of Agrah.

2 The Tarikh-i-muzaffari has 30 lakhs of rupees..
8 Khāfi Khan, II, 837, Siwāniḥ-i-Khizrī, p. 4.

ground. Instigated by his sorrow for their early death and by regret at his own vanished prospects, is it to be wondered at that he lost his judgment, and too readily believed that his young masters had been made away with? He was ready to accept any assertion, however improbable it might be, about the two Sayyads. The only overt act he can adduce is the substitution of the physician, 'Ulwi Khan, for MahdiQuli Khan, as head of the royal kitchen. Then in a later entry, 20th Shawwal (4th September), he insists that the attack of diarrhoea from which the young emperor suffered, was due to the Sayyads' "cunning devices." Finally, on the 28th Shawwal (12th September), when Masiḥ-uz-zamān, 'Abdullah Khan, and other physicians were called to the emperor's bedside, Kamwar Khan can only say that "they took counsel for his departure." These vague accusations cannot for a moment be entertained. To refute them it is enough to remember how much the Sayyads were interested in keeping the prince alive, if they could. They could in no way benefit by such gratuitous iniquity as the poisoning of an inoffensive prince, with whom they had no quarrel, and from whom they could anticipate no injury. The truth is that Rafi'-uddaulah was not only of a weak constitution, but was addicted to opium. This fact sufficiently accounts for his succumbing under an attack of the kind from which he was suffering, as that disease when once set up in an opium-eater is almost incurable. His death occurred in camp at Bidyapur on the 4th or 5th Zu'l Qa'dah 1131 H. (17th or 18th September, 1719)1 but the fact was concealed until the arrival from Dihli of some other prince to be his successor. A week or more before his death the Sayyads' nephew, Ghulām 'Ali Khan, and other nobles had been despatched in all haste to Dihli for that purpose.

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According to one author, various stories more or less absurd were in circulation about the early death of these two emperors. Some said that the 'Sayyads, having found the two youths devoid of learning, deficient in knowledge of men, and wanting in valour, became convinced that they were useless as sovereigns, and had therefore removed them by poison. Again, others hinted that by reading the stars it was found that these princes were doomed to misfortune, and the Sayyads

1 Khushḥál Cand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 996a, says it was the 7th, and quotes the

verse :

Haftam zi Qa'dah az in kuhnah-dair

Kard sue bagh-i-khapan ‘azam-i-sair.

"On the 7th of Zi Qa'dah from this old tavern

"For the silent grove he resolved to set out."

2 Tārīkh-i-muzaffarī, p. 166.

3 Qiyāfat-shināsi, literally, "physiognomy."

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