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and judgment he was found to excel his brothers. This youth was brought as he had been found, wearing his ordinary clothes, his only ornament being a necklace of pearls, taken by Qutb-ul-mulk from his own neck. The Nawab holding one hand and Ajit Singh the other, they seated him straightway on the jewelled peacock throne, which two days before had been brought out into the Dīvān-i-'ām for the celebration of the Nauroz, or vernal festival. Those present offered their gifts, as is usual upon a fresh accession. Then, under the supervision and control of Najm-ud-din 'Ali Khan, Rajah Ratn Cand, Rajah Bakht Mall and Dindar Khan, son of Jalal Khan, at the head of a number of Afghāns, were sent into the female apartments to arrest the deposed emperor.2

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These men, some four hundred altogether, rushed tumultuously into the imperial apartments. A number of the women seized weapons and tried to resist; some were slain and some wounded. The weeping and lamentation of the ladies passed unheeded. The door of the small room where he was hiding having been broken in, the wretched Farrukhsiyar, despairing of life, came out armed with sword and shield, and dealt several blows at the stony-hearted ruffians. In that dire extremity these fruitless and untimely efforts availed him nothing His mother, his wife, his daughter and other ladies grouped themselves around him and tried to shelter him. The shrieking women were pushed on one side with scant ceremony. The men surrounded him and hemmed him in; they then laid hold of him by the hand and neck, his turban fell off, and with every mark of indignity he was dragged and pushed from his retreat. It is said that Ḥafiz-ullah Khan, (subsequently known as Murtaza Khān) and Murid Khān,3 in order to ingratiate themselves with Qutb-ul-mulk, went with those hard-hearted men, thus in one moment wiping out the loyal services done to the line of Taimur, for more than a century past, by their grandfather and father, and at the same time oblivious of their having been themselves

1 i.e., Jalāl Khān of Jalālābād, parganah Thānah Bhawan. Khāfĩ Khān, II, 814, speaks also of one man (not named) " son of Salabat Khan, Rohela.", Possibly this is a copyist's mistake, having been written in place of J

2 Khāfi Khan, 814, 816.

8 Kāmwar Khan, p. 194. Hafiz-ullah Khān received the title of Murtazā Khān on the 29th Sha'ban 1131H, and was made deputy of the Mir Atash (Kāmwar Khān 206). He was a Husaini Sayyad, his name being Ḥafiz-ullah, son of Mīrzā Shakrullah, entitled Murtaṇā Khān (d. 1123 H. 1711-12). He died at Shāhjahānābād on the 6th Jamādi II, 161 H. (2nd June, 1748) aged 63 years T-i-Mḥdi. Murid Khān was rewarded with the appointment of Dāroghah of the Mace-bearers on the day (29th Sha'ban).

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the fallen man's companions and confidants. It was pitiful to see this strong man, perhaps the handsomest and most powerfully-built of Bābar's race that had ever occupied the throne, dragged bareheaded and barefooted, subjected at every moment to blows and the vilest abuse, into the Dīwān-i-khās to the presence of Qutb-ul-mulk. The Nawab opened his pen box, took out a needle used by him for applying collyrium (surmah) to his eyes, and giving it to one of the men, ordered them to throw down their prisoner and blind him. Whatever was found in the female apartments and storehouses, or on the people of the harem-cash, clothes, gold, silver and copper vessels, ornaments and jewels-all was taken, nay, even the slave girls and the concubines were appropriated.1

After the needle had been passed through his eyes, Farrukhsiyar was imprisoned in the room over the Tirpoliya, or triple gate within the fortress. It was the place to which common malefactors were sent, and had already witnessed the death of Jahāndār Shāh seven years before. It was a bare, dark, unfurnished hole, containing nothing but a bowl for food, a pot of water for ablutions, and a vessel with some drinking water. On reaching it he is reported to have quoted the lines:

"Like a cypress in decay,

Such a king in such slavery."2

SECTION 40.-DEATH OF FARRUKHSIYAR.

Although it involves a slight break in the exact chronological order, it seems better to carry on Farrukhsiyar's story to his cruel and dishonoured end. The captivity he was held in appears to have been unnecessarily strict, and many anecdotes connected with it have been handed down. A few days after his accession, the new emperor, Rafi'ud-darajāt, sent a eunuch to inquire about his predecessor's condition. Farrukhsiyar invoked a blessing on his head, and sent back the lines— Be not taken by the gardener's deceit, O nightingale,

Ere this I, too, had my nest in this garden.3

1 On this occasion Warid has the following lines :

Qadirā

Murd! qudrat tū dārī, harchih khwāhi än kunī,

Murdah rā jān ham tū bakhshī, zindah rā murdān kunī.
Harth-i-shāhān tū sitānī, ‘ajiz-i-yak nān kunī.

2 Cunīn sarv rā dar sar-afgandagī,

Cunin shah ra dar cunin bándagi. Mirzā Muḥammad, 461; Khafi Khan, II, 814.

3 Az fareb-i-bāghbản ghāfil ma-bāsh, ai ‘andalīb:

Other verses attributed to him during his imprisonment are:

A heart is mad with wine, give it wine,

It is consumed with fire, give it fire.
To him who asks the state of my heart,
Breathe but a sigh, give that as answer.1

Even the Sayyad soldiers who formed the guard set over him grieved to see how he was treated. For instance, during four or five days at a time, he would be deprived of water for necessary ablutions. Unsuitable food had brought on diarrhoea, and having no water, he was forced to tear off pieces from his clothes to cleanse himself. Day and night he had passed his time in reciting the Quran, which he knew by heart. Even this distraction was denied him, for in his polluted state, it was unlawful to recite the words of the holy volume.

It is believed that, although a needle had been passed through his eyes, Farrukhsiyar was still able to see. In spite of all that had happened, he was still eager for power and believed his restoration possible. He made repeated overtures to the Sayyads, promising to leave all power in their hands, if they would only release him and replace him on the throne. Then he tried to win over 'Abdullah Khān, Afghān, one of his jailors. He promised this man the rank of Haft Hazārī (7000) after he should have conducted him in safety to Rajah Jai Singh. The Afghan betrayed him to the Sayyads. People in the city spread about the story that Tahavvur Khān, wālā shāhi, Rūḥullah Khan (son of Khanahzad Khan) and many others were coming with Raja Jai Singh at the head of a mighty army to deliver the captive. Popular rumour asserted that Farrukhsiyar could still see, and that in secret conclave the two brothers had repented, and would replace the deposed sovereign on the throne. After doing this, they would resign place and office, assume the garb of mendicants, and return to Barhah, or make a pilgrimage to the holy places. This was openly spoken of. Then Hashim 'Ali Khan, Dakhini, said secretly to Husain 'Ali Khan, “I

Pesh az în mã ham dar în bãgh ashyāne dāshtem.

Warid, 158b. But in B. M. Oriental 1828, fo. 28, the words are slightly di

ferent.

1 Dil mast -i-sharab ast, sharab-ash ba dahed,

Khu-kardah-i-ātash ast, àtash ba dahed.
Har kas kih zi aḥwāl-i-dil-i-mā pursad

Ahī ba-lab āred, o jawab--ash ba-dahed.

Mirāt-i-āftāb-numā, B.M. Addl., 16,697, fol. 216a. In Bayān-i-wāqi,' p. 175, and Gladwin, p. 194, the words are different.

J. 1. 45

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"salute your lordship: Disease is dealt with in one of two ways—you "either bear it, or remove the afflicted part. But once you have resort"ed to treatment, there is no hope of recovery till the offending prin"ciple is expelled." The Sayyads then made up their mind to remove Farrukhsiyar. They sent for Sidi Yasin Khan (son of Sīdī Qāsim, Fūlād Khan, once Kotwal of Dihli), and after promising him a reward said: Farrukhsiyar took your father's life without cause, you have a legal right of retaliation,1 put your hand on your dagger and slay "him."The young man refused. Had not his father and his family been the slaves of that royal house? To kill a master who for some supposed fault took a slave's life, was not permissible.

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As no one else was willing, they were forced to act themselves. They began by supplying Farrukhsiyar with bitter and oversalted dishes, but without effect. Slow poison was then tried for a time. Farrukhsiyar now made use of violent language, and cursed the Sayyads in the most virulent terms. Their patience being at an end, they sent executioners into the prison to strangle their victim. spite of a violent resistance, these men effected their purpose, beating the ex-emperor on the hands till he let go the strap that they had tied round his neck. To make sure, he was stabbed several times in the abdomen. This happened on the night between the 8th and 9th Jamādi II, 1131 H. (27th-28th April, 1719). There is a somewhat apocryphal story told in the Siyar-ul-muta,akhkhirin as to the mode of Farrukhsiyar's death, by which the direct blame for it is removed from the shoulders of the Sayyads. Farrukhsiyar is supposed to have evaded his guardians and made an attempt to escape. He passed from one terrace roof to another, and was already at some distance before his absence was detected. The Afghan officer in charge searched for his prisoner, found him hiding in the shadow of a wall, and brought him back, ending by giving him an unmerciful beating. Farrukhsiyar, stung to the quick by this disgrace, ran at the wall, dashed his head against it, and fractured his skull. The evidence for this story seems insufficient, and the author's animus, as Sayyad and Shi'a defending other Sayyads and Shi'as, is sufficiently obvious here as elsewhere.2

On the following day, 10th Jamādī II, 1131 H. (29th April, 1719), the body was thrown down on a mat within the fort for purposes of

1 Qiṣāṣ.

2 Persian text, I., 42; "Seir," I., 150; Briggs, 187, Muḥammad Qasim, 259, Khāfi Khan, II, 819. In the Bayan-i-waqi,' 175, poison is alleged: the passage reads thus in Gladwin, 194: "A few days after, Farrukhsiyar was destroyed by poison: in order to be sure he was dead, they cut the soles of his feet, and then buried him,"

identification, and the blackness of the face showed that Farrukhsiyar had been strangled; there were also several cuts and wounds to be seen. The body was then prepared for the grave and the bier brought out. Dilawar 'Ali Khan, paymaster of Husain 'Ali Khan's household, and Sayyad 'Ali Khan, brother of 'Abdullah Khan's paymaster, were sent to carry out the burial rites. They were followed by all the eunuchs, some of the manṣabdars, and a part of the state equipage. When the body was brought to the Akbarabadi mosque, it was received by 15,000 to 20,000 men from the camp and bazars. After recital of the prayers over the dead, ‘Abdul Ghafür lifted the corpse and carried it out, to the accompaniment of weeping and wailing from the crowd. As the procession passed, lamentations arose from every roof and door. Men and women, old and yong, rich and poor, shed tears for the departed emperor and cursed his oppressors. The streets and lanes were rendered impassable by the crowds. The rabble and the mendicants, who had received alms from Farrukhsiyar, followed his bier, rending their garments and throwing ashes on their heads, and as it passed, the women on the roofs raised their cry of mourning, and flung stones and bricks upon the servants and officers of the Sayyads. The body was deposited in the crypt of Humāyūn's tomb, in the place where a few years before the body of Farrukhsiyar's father, 'Azim-ush-shān, had rested before its departure for Aurangābād. The bread and the copper coins, brought for distribution to the poor, were rejected by the crowd with scorn; and on the third day, the rabble and professional beggars assembled on the platform where the body had been washed, and there cooked and distributed a large quantity of food, and until day dawned sang funeral laments.2

For many a day, no beggar deigned to appeal for charity to any passing noble who had been concerned in Farrukhsiyar's death. Zafar Khān's liberal gifts of bread and sweetmeats were far famed; but these, too, were refused. The beggars said that in their mouths was still the flavour of the kindnesses bestowed by the martyred Emperor, adding, "May he be poisoned who takes a morsel bearing upon it the mark of those men." They made collections from artisans and shopkeepers, and distributed alms of food every Thursday at Humayun's tomb. If any great noble passed along the roads or through the bazars, they pursued him with shouts and harsh reproaches. Especially was this the case with regard to Mahārājah Ajit Singh and his followers, so that they were forced to reach darbār by the most out-of-the-way routes. The

1 It stands in the Faiz bāzār, that is, on the road from the Dihli gate of th fort to the South or Dihli gate of the city.

Khāfi Khān, II., 820 ; Kamwar Khăn, 200; Muhammad Qāsim, 260.

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