No More Learning

As defections continued it was
clear that Humayun must fight or would find himself a leader without
an army. Accordingly the river was crossed and small engagements
took place. Before any general battle had occurred the rainy season
began unduly early and the Mughul camp in the low land near the
river was flooded. Mirza Haidar suggested a bold maneuvre to mask
a change to a better position near the enemy. This was difficult to
carry out as the camp was thronged with many thousands of fol-
lowers and the army would be an easy prey if attacked during the
confusion of a move. On 17 May, 1540, the Mughul artillery was
sent to the front and the guns and wagons were chained together,
so that the camp followers could march behind their protection if an


## p. 35 (#67) ##############################################

2
HUMAYUN FLEES TO THE PUNJAB
35
attack was made. Sher Khan moved out his forces against them,
while the Mughuls were still in confusion with their numerous non-
combatants pressing on behind the guns in such masses that the
chains were broken. The leaders were incapable and cowardly and
many of them fled for their lives as they saw the Afghan troops arrive.
Humayun with his usual personal bravery tried to rally his men, but
was forced to fly. Mirza Haidar laments that 40,000 men in armour
fled before 10,000 without a single cannon being fired. A few miles
behind them lay the river in which many perished, encumbered by
their armour. Humayun crossed with difficulty on an elephant but
only a few of the thousand men immediately accompanying him
succeeded in escaping. As the small band rode towards Agra it was
attacked by Chauhan Thakurs at Bhongaon ? and the refusal of
'Askari to help in chastising the assailants moved Humayun's wrath.
At Agra, the capital, there was no chance of a rally. So great was
their distress that Humayun, who had lost a daughter after the battle
of Chausa, discussed with Hindal the question of killing their female
relations to avoid capture by the Afghans, but was dissuaded and
Hindal conducted them to Lahore, often having to beat off attacks
by the villagers on the route. The emperor's small party rode in
confusion towards Delhi till the news that a party of Afghans was
following roused Humayun to instil some order into his small fol-
lowing. After a couple of days' halt at Delhi he hurried on to Lahore,
forced to cross rivers swollen by rain without the help of boats. Close
behind them came the Afghans, who occupied Agra and Delhi with-
out opposition. At Lahore all four brothers met, Hindal and 'Askari
having visited the headquarters of their charges on the way to collect
what treasure could be recovered. Even in the presence of imminent
danger from the Afghans concord was impossible. With Humayun
driven out of Hindustan Kamran saw that he was likely to have to
give up his own possessions in the Punjab and Afghanistan, and the
danger of this made him disinclined to join in a hazardous resistance
to Sher Khan which might involve the waste of his own resources.
As Sher Khan overran the Punjab the need for action increased.
Humayun sent him a request to allow Sirhind to be the boundary
and received a contemptuous warning that he should withdraw to
Kabul. Kamran hoped that he could at least maintain his hold on
the west if he held the rugged tribal country between India and
Afghanistan. Humayun, while brave in tactical affairs, failed him-
self to produce any strategical plan. He was pressed by Mirza
Haidar to withdraw to the Punjab hills and shelter in Kashmir,
while Hindal and Yadgar Mirza suggested a movement through
Sind to reconquer Gujarat from which Hindustan might be again
invaded. While the brothers wrangled, Kamran treacherously sent
1 The manuscripts read variously hasht=eight, or shast=sixty.
2 In 27° 17' N. and 79° 14' E.


## p. 36 (#68) ##############################################

36
HUMAYUN
a message to offer his assistance to Sher Khan if he were left alone.
An ambassador from Sher Khan was received as if he had come to
the court of Humayun, while secret negotiations continued. Sher
Khan crossed the Beas and the brothers abandoned Lahore in a rout
described as being as confused as the Day of Resurrection. The
treachery of Kamran was now so well known in the Mughul camp that
Humayun was urged to have him killed, but the memory of Babur's
dying wishes was still too fresh on his mind to allow him to agree to
fratricide. He determined to adopt Mirza Haidar's scheme for the con-
quest of Kashmir and moved in that direction. Before he had advanced
far a threatening movement by Kamran was reported and his army,
disgusted with the treachery of the latter, was eager to oppose him
by arms. Humayun in his anxiety to avoid a contest which could
only have weakened the Mughul strength refused to show a hostile
appearance to his brother, and the meeting was thus peaceful. It
ended with the departure of Kamran for his governorship at Kabul
accompanied by his brother 'Askari. But Humayun's clemency con-
vinced Hindal that his brother was wanting in the firmness which at
that time was necessary for one who sought to rule in India. And
just as Kamran had pursued his self-seeking aims by leaving the
emperor when most in need of help, so Hindal abandoned him and
set out on a vain expedition to pursue his scheme of conquering Sind
and then Gujarat again and making it a base for further attacks on
Hindustan. In this expedition he was joined by still more adherents
from Humayun's shrinking forces.
Mirza Haidar's plan for capturing Kashmir was sound in every
way. His previous experience in 1533, when he had raided the
country as a general of the king of Kashghar, had shown him what
little resistance could be expected in a country torn by faction, and
he knew and pointed out that a determined force holding it could
repel any army of men from the plains, hampered by the difficulty
of travel and the absence of supplies. He was, moreover, sure of
support from one of the parties in the state. It had been arranged
that he should enter Kashmir from Naushahra and he marched in
advance of Humayun. When the emperor followed him and reached
Bhera, where he hoped to obtain the assistance of the local governor,
he found that Kamran had already preceded him and forestalled his
hopes. Once more he was urged to assert himself and brush Kamran
from his path, but refused as he had done at Lahore. A proposal
that he should retreat through Kabul to Badakhshan was rejected by
Kamran, whose treacherous nature led him to suspect that Humayun
might dispossess him from Kabul and advance no farther. The road
to Naushahra being blocked and it being impossible for Humayun
to stay between an envious and unscrupulous brother on one hand
and the victorious Sher Khan who was pressing on from Lahore, he
1 Vol. II, p. 287,


## p. 37 (#69) ##############################################

ATTEMPTS TO TAKE SIND
37
decided to abandon the hope of Kashmir and to follow Hindal to
Sind (end of 1540). He had hardly started when again a collision
with Kamran was imminent. Their forces met in a defile of the Salt
Range near Khushab, at the end of which the roads towards Sind
and Kabul diverged, and a dispute arose as to which should pass
through it first. Kamran's thinly veiled intention of assuming the
headship of the family appeared more clearly than ever when he
asserted his own right of precedence, and for once Humayun's pride
was stung and battle seemed inevitable. It was averted only by the
remonstrances of a man of saintly reputation in the train of Kamran.
Thus began a wearying exile which lasted for nearly 15 years and
was endured only by the greatest fortitude and perseverance, though
it was constantly prolonged by Humayun's inability to command
respect and faithful allegiance. Before he could join Hindal news
came that the country round Multan, which had been ceded to Babur
by the Arghun ruler of Sind, was in a state of anarchy. Hindal's
force had met and overwhelmed a small escort of Afghans accom-
panying Kamran's messenger to Sher Khan, but was unable to face
the Baloch raiders who had overrun the country and cut off what
scanty supplies were available. Hindal was thus compelled to return
and the brothers met, but were almost immediately faced with the
danger of attack by Khavass Khan, an Afghan general who had taken
Multan and was searching for them, but retired to headquarters
as he could get no news of them. While Humayun thus marched or
lay in great discomfort in the most inhospitable part of the Indian
plain his faithful general Mirza Haidar had carried out the plan of
seizing Kashmir with a minute force, and was so successful in estab-
lishing himself that he ruled till his death in action ten years later.
Humayun's first experiences in Sind illustrate his lack of skill in
the conduct of a difficult campaign, against an opponent so able as
Shah Husain, the ruler of the country. Making his toilsome journey
down the Indus he reached Rohri on the left bank not far from the
island fortress of Bhakkar. Shah Husain had strengthened the gar-
rison and bidden the governor lay waste the country round so that
the Mughul forces would be unable to obtain supplies. This was
easily effected as population was scanty and cultivation sparse and
only possible where land could be irrigated from the river. To relieve
the pressure of want Humayun divided his troops, himself remaining
in fairly comfortable quarters to prosecute the siege, while Hindal
and Yadgar advanced towards Sehwan where they hoped to obtain
better supplies. In reply to the emperor's summons to surrender the
fortress the governor replied that he was subordinate to Shah Husain
and could obey only him, though he sent a small supply of grain to
relieve the immediate wants of Humayun's camp. Envoys were then
despatched to Shah Husain, who detained them for months by holding
out promises he had no intention of fulfilling. He thus reduced the


## p. 38 (#70) ##############################################

38
HUMAYUN
Mughul forces to such extreme want that many of the soldiers killed
their horses and camels for food. When the emperor at last made
up his mind to recall the envoys Shah Husain sent with them an
ambassador with the cunning suggestion that Humayun should
occupy a tract described as rich which lay east of Sind and would
prove a convenient place from which Gujarat could be conquered.
Though Humayun was easily dazzled by this prospect, his followers
realised that it wanted in substance, as the inhabitants of the area
named had never been subdued by Shah Husain and were not likely
to allow the Mughuls to occupy their country. Humayun's delay at
Bhakkar and the indulgence of hopes which were patently empty
in the eyes of all his advisers disgusted Hindal, who had long been
demanding permission to attack Sehwan, a richer portion of Sind
lying south of Bhakkar, and had some intentions of deserting his
brother and capturing Qandahar. When finally Hindal was allowed
to move against Sehwan Shah Husain had strengthened its garrison
and repeated his scheme of destroying the villages and cultivation
in its neighbourhood. To ensure his brother's good faith Humayun
marched to join him and while in his camp nearly caused an irre-
vocable breach by insisting on marrying (in 1541) Hamida Begam,
the daughter of Hindal's spiritual guide, who afterwards became
the mother of the emperor Akbar. The girl was probably in love
with somebody else and herself displayed the strongest objection
to the match. Sickness breaking out in the camp, Humayun left
it to return to Bhakkar, and Hindal in disgust abandoned his task
and left for Qandahar, sending messages to Yadgar Mirza to invite
him to follow. Once more Humayun's vacillation had brought him
into serious trouble and to secure Yadgar Mirza's adherence he made
promises of considerable grants to be conferred when he regained
power. Realising too late that Shah Husain had been merely playing
with him, he decided to attack Shah Husain's capital city Tatta near
the mouth of the Indus, and set out on this enterprise. But on the
way he was again persuaded to turn aside and besiege Sehwan, a
hopeless task in view of the defensive plans which had been carried
out. As he entered on this futile operation Shah Husain, judging
that the time had arrived for a more active policy, collected a fleet
of boats and advanced up the river. Humayun's unwieldy force,
swollen by fugitives of his own race who had fled from the Afghan
supremacy in Hindustan, was driven to great extremities by the lack
of food. An appeal made to Hindal for assistance was disregarded.
Yadgar Mirza, who was also directed to attack Shah Husain, had
already been seduced by that astute monarch, and had received
favourably a suggestion that he should himself become emperor by
conquering Gujarat with help from Sind and might have the rever-
sion of Sind itself by marrying Shah Husain's daughter. Thus de-
prived of any hope of assistance and alarmed by the proximity of Shah


## p. 39 (#71) ##############################################

HOPES OF AID IN RAJPUTANA
39
Husain, Humayun gave up his siege operations so suddenly that his
retreat towards Bhakkar was almost a rout, and much loss was
experienced on the march. With the connivance of Yadgar Mirza
all the boats on the river near Bhakkar had been seized or sunk by
Sind officers and on his arrival at the bank Humayun was forced
to kill cattle and prepare skin floats for rafts to make the crossing.
He now perceived that Yadgar Mirza was no longer faithful and his
followers, already reduced in number, began to desert either to Yadgar
Mirza or to more distant supporters. When finally Yadgar Mirza
proposed to attack Humayun openly, and was only dissuaded after
he had actually left his camp, the emperor's despair almost impelled
him to resign all hope and withdraw to a religious exile in Mecca.
.
As a last resource he accepted an invitation from Raja Maldeo of
Marwar, who promised him assistance, and made his way to Rajputana,
suffering great privations on the march,
The raja's object in offering help to Humayun is doubtful. Since
the battle of Khanua the Rajputs had had no desire for friendship
with the Mughuls. But Sher Khan's success had increased the
possible danger of further incursions into Rajputana and Maldeo
appears to have hoped that aid to Humayun, who had shown himself
generous, if not mighty, would be repaid. From the miserable
handful of refugees who were now painfully approaching his capital
he saw that he could expect nothing, and he therefore decided to
seize and give up Humayun to Sher Khan. Humayun discovered
this intention through his spies and again retreated, suffering even
greater hardships than before. On one occasion the small band of
fugitives had to march for more than three days without water as the
wells had been filled in or destroyed. Their sufferings in the Indian
desert at the hottest period of the year were terrible and many died
of thirst. So reduced in circumstances was the emperor himself that
he had to play a disgraceful trick on his own few officers by having
their baggage searched in their absence in order to obtain a few
presents for the Rana of 'Umarkot, who gave him shelter on his
arrival there.
For a time prosperity seemed about to dawn, as the Rana offered
help to conquer the south-eastern part of Sind, which had once
belonged to his ancestors. An expedition started in November, 1542,
and a few days later news came that the empress, who had remained
at 'Umarkot, had borne a son who later became the emperor Akbar.
So poor had Humayun become that he had to borrow from his
brother the means to provide a meagre feast for his nobles. While
the attack on what was a rich area succeeded at first it was soon met
by Shah Husain with his powerful resources of diplomacy and arms.
The arrogance of the Mughuls towards Hindus also operated in his
favour, and Humayun lost the support of his new aīlies. Though
he was now joined by Bairam Khan, one of the best and most faithful


## p. 40 (#72) ##############################################

40
HUMAYUN
soldiers of the time, who had escaped from Sher Khan with great
difficulty, his staff had decreased, and a fresh disaster impelled him
to make up his mind to risk all on a final decisive battle. Shah
Husain, though stronger in every way, preferred negotiation and
offered Humayun passage through his country to Qandahar with
supplies and money for the journey. The terms were accepted and
the emperor departed (1543).
Any hopes he had entertained of safety in his brother's territory
were soon destroyed. Kamran assumed the royal title, and struck
coin in his own name at Kabul and Qandahar, invaded Badakhshan,
as the ruler of that tract still recognised Humayun, and when his
governor at Qandahar made over that place to Hindal on his flight
from Sind, he besieged the town and on obtaining its surrender
despatched Hindal as prisoner to Kabul and appointed 'Askari as
ruler in his place. He even tried to establish relationship with Shah
Husain by proposing to marry the Shah's daughter. With these
unfavourable prospects before him Humayun entered on a difficult
wintry march in no way rendered easier by the transport and guides
whom Shah Husain had sent with him. Many of the camels supplied
were untrained and threw off their loads or riders at the start; while
the guides misled the troops. 'Askari set the defences of Qandahar
in order and wrote to the Baloch chiefs to arrest the emperor, who
had a narrow escape and was obliged to abandon his infant son to
the precarious mercy of faithless brothers. Avoiding Qandahar he
made his way into Persia with many doubts whether a friendless
Sunni ruler who had lost every vestige of sovereignty would find
refuge with a bigoted Shiah.
His reception, though splendid, was in fact more designed to
exhibit the magnificence of his host than to do honour to an emperor
of India, and when he joined the Shah's camp he was subjected to
many insults and hardly veiled threats of violence if he did not
change his religious practices. These were borne with quiet patience
and at last in 1545 Shah Tahmasp offered him a force with which
to contend against Kamran, a condition of success being the promise
to restore Qandahar to Persia. Passing through Sistan he laid siege
to Qandahar and sent Bairam Khan to Kabul to gain adherents
there. After an obstinate resistance for several months 'Askari sur-
rendered Qandahar. He and his amirs came out with swords hanging
round their necks to show their complete submission. Humayun for-
gave his brother as usual, but at the feast to celebrate the capture
of the town he had 'Askari's letters to the Baloches placed in front
of him. Qandahar was reluctantly made over to the Persians and
designs begun for an attack on Kabul. The Persian allies, however,
having attained their object, declined to advance and the cold of
1 His sister's account in the Humayun-nama omits all mention of this
ill-treatment.


## p. 41 (#73) ##############################################

CAPTURE OF QANDAHAR AND KABUL
41
winter and the smallness of his force prevented Humayun from
moving, though Kamran had been deserted by many adherents.
Pressed by his necessity he overcame his reluctance to break his
promises to the Shah, and when the Persian prince died who had
accompanied him in command of his allies, he reoccupied Qandahar
and was at last able to set out for Kabul. During the absence of
Kamran in the Hazara country Yadgar and Hindal escaped from
Kabul and joined the emperor. Though he was impeded and faced
near the city by Kamran he pressed on, gaining more and more
deserters, and was able to enter the camp of Kamran, who fled into
Kabul and then escaped towards Ghazni and finally into Sind, so
that Humayun was able to enter the city and again meet his son
Akbar (November, 1544).
He spent the rest of the winter in settling the affairs of southern
Afghanistan, which now recognised his rule, and some advance in a
spirit of resolution is marked by his directing the execution of his
cousin Yadgar Mirza who had been so faithless in Sind. In the
spring of 1545 he crossed the Hindu Kush to reduce the northern
part of the country and made a successful campaign. While here an
unfortunate illness in which his life was despaired of gave the signal
for plots and insubordination. Although his recovery stopped these
dissensions among his immediate adherents Kamran took advantage
of his absence north of the mountains to surprise Kabul with help
from Shah Husain (1546). Arriving unexpectedly in the early
morning he found the garrison off their guard and slipped in with
the crowd of early grass-cutters and water-carriers. There he behaved
with great cruelty towards all who had helped the emperor and fell
into his hands. Humayun hastened to recover his capital, crossing
the mountains with difficulty, and again losing many officers who
deserted, fearing that Kamran would massacre their families in
Kabul. The town was blockaded and warfare continued with greater
bitterness than had yet been shown in the contests between the
brothers. It is even stated by some writers that the infant Akbar
was exposed on the ramparts to the fire of his father's cannon. The
siege was pressed so strongly that Kamran contemplated surrender
but was persuaded that his brother's patience must now be exhausted
and he escaped in the hope of avoiding death (1547). As he fled he
was actually captured by Hindal but was allowed to escape. He
sought refuge with Sulaiman the ruler of Badakhshan and, being
spurned by one who had already suffered at the hands of the Mughuls,
fled to the Uzbegs in Balkh who received him favourably in the hope
of keeping alive dissensions between the brothers. For a time it
appeared probable that Kamran would again rise to power. With
Uzbeg help he invaded Badakhshan and gaining some success was
joined by many of his former supporters, who were always more
disposed to side with a successful prince than to keep faith with one


## p. 42 (#74) ##############################################

42
HUMAYUN
>
who seemed to be losing power. It was too late in the year for
Humayun to cross the passes and in the following spring he was
delayed by a foolish quarrel between high officers at Kabul, which
led to other defections. When he did advance the Uzbegs, who had
,
no wish to see any of the brothers supreme, refused to give further help
to Kamran and after some inconclusive fighting Kamran submitted
(1548), relying on Humayun's generosity to forgive him. He was
received in public audience and hung a whip round his neck to
signify his sense of criminal guilt and began to express regret.
Humayun cut short his confessions and calling him brother seized
him in his arms and wept. Kamran was then appointed to govern
a tract north of the Oxus, and was disgusted with its remoteness and
inadequacy.
When in the following year (1549) Humayun marched into Balkh
Kamran was summoned to join with his forces against the Uzbegs,
but failed to attend. The emperor gained some successes and actually
reached the city of Balkh which he probably would have taken.
But a sudden panic seized his army through fear that Kamran might
slip past them and again occupy Kabul. A hasty withdrawal became
a rout and the shattered army reached Kabul with difficulty. Once
more Kamran abandoned his post, attacked Badakhshan and failing
there tried to seduce Hindal from allegiance to the emperor, but failed
and was severely handled by the Uzbegs. Though he withdrew he
was invited to Kabul by malcontents in Humayun's army and
marched towards it making false professions of fealty to his brother.
These were at first accepted by Humayun till the advice of his
officers convinced him of their unreliability, and Humayun made up
his mind to capture Kamran. In the battle which ensued Humayun's
troops failed him. He was severely wounded and had to fly while
Kamran was able to occupy Kabul and enrich himself by plundering
the treasury and country. After several months' painful convalescence
in the mountains during which he was believed at Kabul to be dead,
Humayun took the field again with the help of a force raised by the
wife of Sulaiman, ruler of Badakhshan. He attempted to bind his
adherents by a solemn oath of fealty. Advancing to Kabul he met
Kamran in battle and defeated him. “Askari, who had sided with
Kamran, was captured and after confinement for a time was sent
on pilgrimage and never returned, while Kamran escaped to pursue
for some time his schemes for power.
Humayun had now realised the folly of indiscriminate forgiveness
of rebels, and set himself to consolidate his position in Afghanistan.
In this he was ably helped by Bairam Khan who received the title
of Khan Khanan. Kamran was followed up as he tried to rouse the
country between Kabul and India and in a night attack Hindal
was killed by an Afghan. It was characteristic of the attitude of
1 He died in Mecca in 1558.


## p. 43 (#75) ##############################################

CHARACTER OF HUMAYUN
43
Mughul princes to each other that the news of the death caused a
paroxysm of grief to Kamran though Hindal was then opposing him.
For some time Kamran suffered hardships wandering among the
border Afghan tribes and then he sought refuge with Islam Shah in
India (1552), where his reception was as contemptuous as that of
Humayun during his exile in Persia. Escaping to the Khokar country
he was surrendered to Humayun, who had come in pursuit of him.
And now the emperor was strongly pressed by all his advisers,
military, civil and religious, to execute his brother to prevent further
evil to the state. Though his heart had become tougher during his
recent trials Humayun was still far from seeking his brother's life,
but he agreed so far that he ordered him to be blinded. An affecting
farewell took place between the brothers in which Humayun expressed
his sympathy with Kamran's sufferings and Kamran admitted his
own misconduct and fault. Abandoned by all his nearest friends but
accompanied by a faithful wife Kamran travelled to Sind and thence
to Mecca where he died (1557).
Humayun was now free from the most dangerous rivals of his own
house and the generals of his race who had aided or opposed him as
seemed most to their personal interests were dead or scattered. How
he regained some part of his former possession in India will be related
in the next chapter. Like most Mughal princes Humayun, who was
born in 1508, was placed in nominal charge of a province at an early
age. He was only twelve when Badakhshan was made over to him in
1520, and he remained there almost continuously till he assisted in
Babur's conquest of northern India, after which he was allowed to
return. On his journey back an incident occurred which throws light
on his character. Halting at Delhi he robbed the government treasury
though he had been amply rewarded by his father and had received a
territorial grant. His experience of the pleasures to be enjoyed in India
then made the isolation of Badakhshan irksome to him, and Babur in
his Memoirs records a letter rebuking his son for his discontent, and
criticising the carelessness of his spelling and composition. When
Babur's strenuous mode of living had sapped his health Humayun
abandoned his post and came to India to be near his father.
The defects thus noted in his early life, carelessness, unreliability
and self-indulgence, persisted in his maturity. They were accom-
panied by an excess of kindliness which often led to lack of decision,
when promptness and even ruthlessness were needed. The tradition
of his race was one of conquest rather than consolidation or adminis-
trative development. Transoxiana and Afghanistan were hard schools
in which a rigorous climate and barren soil bred warriors who excelled
in forays but developed no skill in peaceful administration. It was
not till his final recovery of India that he really planned a scheme for
ruling it, and his death occurred before it could be carried out.
Though possessed of high personal courage and endurance in distress


## p. 44 (#76) ##############################################

44
HUMAYUN
Humayun, like many of his descendants, found the softer climate of
India corrupting. He could fight against odds and show skill in
devising methods of taking a difficult fort. But when a battle was
won or a city stormed he would sit down to consume the captured
treasure, sharing it generously with his whole army, which thus
became enervated and corrupted. At times indulgence in opium
sapped his power of action still further, and he wasted months of his
life in feasting or in a drugged stupor.
Some latent pettiness of nature would cause him as much anger
when the ladies of the court were late for a pleasure excursion as the
revolt of a brother which threatened his sovereignty and life. In the
one case he would insist on letters of apology, while in the other the
appearance of the culprit with professions of regret was sufficient to
dispel his anger and cause tears of joy at the reconciliation. Humanity
carried to an extreme brought misery not only to him but to the people
who looked to him as a ruler. With rare exceptions his best generals
deserted him again and again, confident that they would be forgiven
if the tide changed in his favour and they offered to serve him once
more. There is a well-known story that the water-carrier, who saved
his life in the crossing of the Ganges after the battle of Chausa, was
allowed to occupy the throne at Agra for a day and to exercise all
imperial power, which illustrates Humayun's lack of proportion.
His unsettled life and wanderings made it impossible that he could
gather round him cultured men of learning, but like most of the
Mughuls he was fond of literature. His reliance on astrology gave
him some interest in astronomy and this was indirectly the cause
of his death, as he fell while descending from the roof of his library
where he had been directing his astronomers to observe a transit of
Venus, with a view to issuing orders at a lucky moment.


## p.
45 (#77) ##############################################

CHAPTER
III
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
THE RETURN OF HUMAYUN
2
DURING his long struggle with the kings of the Sharqi dynasty
of Jaunpur, Sultan Buhlul Lodi recruited his forces with bodies of
Afghans from Roh, the highlands of the Sulaiman range, whose
leaders received assignments in India for the maintenance of their
followers. Among them was one Ibrahim Khan, of the Sur tribe,
a horse-dealer according to Abu-'l-Fazl, who is ever ready to dis-
parage those who drove his master's father from his throne. Whether
Ibrahim Khan ever sold horses is uncertain, but he was a soldier
who received assignments as a reward for his services. He is said
to have claimed descent from the Shansabanids of Ghur,? but pro-
bably without grounds.
Ibrahim had at least three sons, and one of them, Hasan Khan,
had eight sons, of whom the eldest, Farid, was born some years
before 1489. Ibrahim held assignments at first in the Punjab, but
afterwards in the pargana of Narnaul, under the Afghan Jamal Khan,
who held the large assignment of Hissar, and on his death his son
Hasan Khan succeeded; when Sikandar Lodi defeated his rebellious
brother Barbak, but permitted him to retain the government of
Jaunpur, Jamal Khan was transferred to that province, and received
there large assignments which enabled him to prevent Barbak from
again disturbing the peace of the realm. With him he took all the
members of the Sur tribe or clan serving in Hissar and Narnaul, and
Hasan Khan received the parganas of Sasaram, Hajipurš and
Khavasspur Tanda for the maintenance of 500 horse. Of Hasan's
eight sons only four are of any importance, Farid and Nizam, the
two eldest, born of his senior wife, an Afghan, and Sulaiman and
Ahmad, the two youngest, born of a Hindu concubine. He had
wearied of his Afghan wife, and was entirely submissive to his concu-
bine. She was devoted to the interests of her own sons and so resented
any favour shown to her stepsons that Farid, while yet a lad, chafing
under his father's coldness to him, fled from their home at Sasaram,
and took refuge with Jamal Khan at Jaunpur. Jamal Khan urged
Farid to return to his father and to pursue his studies, but Farid
refused to return as Jaunpur was a better place for study than
Sasaram. Such progress did he make that his father, when he visited
4
1 See vol, m, pp. 229-34 and 254-9.
3 See vol. III, p. 236.
5 25° 41' N. , 85° 12' E.
2 See vol. II, 38-48 and 689.
4 24° 57' N. , 84° 1' E.
6 In Tirhut,


## p. 46 (#78) ##############################################

46
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
Jaunpur, invited him to return and placed him in charge of the two
parganas, Hajipur and Khavasspur Tanda.
The administration of these two parganas was Farid's initiation,
and he mastered all the details of revenue and customary law, and
rigorously suppressed bribery, extortion, brigandage and disaffection
But Hasan was still subservient to his concubine, who was so enraged
by his praise of her stepson that she ceased to admit him to inter-
course with her, and thus compelled him to promise that he would
make over the administration of Farid's parganas to her son, Sulai-
man. Farid, after vainly reproaching his father with breach of faith,
as he had promised that he would not in future neglect Farid, left
the district and sought service in Agra, at the court of Ibrahim Lodi.
He found a patron in Daulat Khan, who held the command of
12,000 horse, and earned his approbation and an offer of assistance.
Farid complained of his father's injustice and begged that the king
might be moved to confer on him the two parganas of which his father
had deprived him, but Ibrahim Lodi was in a bad humour and
refused to do anything for an undutiful son. Daulat Khan temporarily
satisfied Farid by promoting him in his own service, and shortly
afterwards, on his father's death, obtained for him a royal grant in
succession to his father. This land was now in possession of his half-
brother, Sulaiman, who fled when Farid came to take possession of
it and took refuge with another of the tribe, Muhammad Khan Sur,
who held the pargana of Chaund, and who, having been on bad
terms with Hasan, welcomed the opportunity of fomenting the
quarrels of his sons. He proposed to Farid a division of the assign-
ment, but Farid replied that while he was prepared to share his
father's property with his brothers he would not give up any share
in the administration of the area granted to him by the king.
Meanwhile Babur had invaded India, and Farid resolved to await
the result of the contest between him and Ibrahim Lodi, confident
that if Ibrahim prevailed his assignment would be confirmed, and
resolved, should Babur prevail, to enlist the aid of Bihar Khan, the
governor of Bihar, against his half-brother and his patron Muham
mad Sur.
Bihar Khan, on receipt of the news of the defeat and death of
Ibrahim at Panipat, assumed the title of Sultan Muhammad, as
independent sovereign of Bihar, and received Farid when he waited
upon him. Farid soon gained the good opinion of his new master.
as he had gained that of all others whom he had served, and rose
to high rank in his service. One day, while hunting with him, he
slew a tiger and received the title of Sher (tiger) Khan, by which
he will henceforth be described. The Sultan, at the same time,
appointed him tutor to his young son, Jalal Khan.
1 Also transliterated Jaund. Now Chainpur in Shahabad district, see Oldham,
Journal of F. Buchanan, p. 122, n. 3.


## p. 47 (#79) ##############################################

SHER KHAN ENTERS BABUR'S SERVICE
47
Sher Khan after some time sought leave to return for a period to
his assignment, which, though administered by his own brother,
Nizam Khan, required his personal attention. Muhammad belonged
to the Lohani tribe of Afghans, and most of his courtiers and officials,
who were of the same tribe, resented the intrusion of one of the Sur
tribe, so that Muhammad Sur found little difficulty in rousing ill-will
against Sher Khan during his absence. Mahmud Lodi, the brother
of Ibrahim, who had taken refuge in Rajputana, was expected in
Bihar, and it was suggested that Sher Khan would side with Mahmud
against Sultan Muhammad. Sultan Muhammad, however, took no
action against him, but appointed Muhammad Sur arbiter in the
dispute between Sher Khan and his half-brother, Sulaiman. Thus
empowered, Muhammad Sur directed Sher Khan to share the assign-
ment equally with all his brothers, but he, citing the royal order,
refused to comply, and Muhammad sent his troops to seize the estate.
Sher Khan's agent was defeated and slain and the remnant of his
troops fled to Sher Khan at Sasaram.
Sher Khan's position was now difficult. He would not appeal to
Sultan Muhammad, who he knew was unwilling to quarrel with
Muhammad Sur. He therefore opened negotiations with Sultan
Junaid Birlas, Babur's governor of Kara and Manikpur, and, with
his brother Nizam, sought aid in recovering his assignment which
he promised to hold as the subordinate of Junaid. Junaid welcomed
this opportunity of extending Babur's influence and supplied Sher
Khan with a force, by the help of which he not only recovered his
own assignment but expelled Muhammad Sur from Chaund and
drove him into the Rohtas hills. This success so enhanced his reputa-
tion that large numbers of Afghans entered his service, and he
returned the contingent placed at his service by Junaid with a hand-
some reward and thanks for the assistance. He then sought reconcilia-
tion with his kinsman, Muhammad Sur, inviting him to return and
resume his estates, as it behoved all Afghans to unite. Muhammad
Sur returned to Chaund, and Sher Khan, having, as he believed,
gained his good will, visited Junaid at Agra where he was presented
to Babur. He now temporarily entered Babur's service, really with
the object of studying Babur's system and ascertaining how he could
be expelled from India. He accompanied Babur on an expedition
to Chanderi, but is said to have been indiscreet in his criticism of the
system of administration and of the army, and to have caused offence
by his behaviour at the royal table. Babur was disposed to imprison
him had he not been dissuaded by Junaid and his brother Mir
Khalifa, the minister, who warned him of the danger of making
enemies of the Afghans. Sher Khan, perceiving how matters stood,
fled with his contingent from the royal camp, and excused his depar-
ture in a letter to Junaid, feigning that local affairs urgently required
his presence. He had also incurred the suspicions of his former


## p. 48 (#80) ##############################################

48
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
master, Sultan Muhammad, by entering Babur's service, and Muham-
mad Sur was endeavouring to obtain permission to eject Nizam
Khan from Sasaram. Sher Khan had seen enough of Babur, and
from now onwards sought to unite the Afghans against the Mughuls.
He repaired once more to the court of Sultan Muhammad, who
welcomed and again appointed him tutor and guardian of Jalal
Khan. The Sultan died very shortly after this and, his son being
yet a minor, his mother assumed the regency and appointed Sher
Khan her agent, so that he became the ruler of Bihar and, when
Jalal Khan's mother died, king in all but name. He strengthened
his position by entering into a close alliance with the governor of
Hajipur on behalf of Sultan Mahmud of Bengal, perceiving that
unless Bihar and Bengal united to oppose Babur both might fall into
his hands. The king of Bengal, however, desiring to acquire Bihar,
sent a force to invade it which was defeated with great loss of treasure,
horses and elephants.
Meanwhile the hostility of most of the Lohanis at Jalal Khan's
court against Sher Khan grew, and a plot was formed to assassinate
him, but he was informed of it in time and warned Jalal Khan, who
had been privy to the plot, that Mahmud of Bengal was intent on
conquering Bihar and would certainly succeed if its chief defender
were removed. Jalal Khan, apparently convinced, promised to dis-
miss the conspirators but took no step in that direction, and two
hostile parties were formed in Bihar, one consisting of Jalal Khan
and the majority of the Lohanis, the other of Sher Khan, some of the
Lohanis, and his own and other Afghan tribes. Sher Khan attempted
to restore unity by reminding his enemies that the great fault of
the Afghans were treachery to those of their own race, which had cost
the Lodis the dominion of Hindustan, but his words fell upon deaf ears.
Sultan Mahmud now sent a fresh army to avenge the earlier
defeat. The jealousies of the Lohani tribe blinded them to their own
interests as well as to those of their sovereign and they persuaded
Jalal Khan to rid himself of Sher Khan at all costs. He therefore
ordered Sher Khan to return to his charge, on the pretext that the
Lohanis were unwilling to fight under his orders. Sher Khan retired
to Sasaram, and Jalal Khan allowed himself to be persuaded to join
the army of Mahmud of Bengal, and ceased to be king of Bihar. Sher
Khan rejoiced at the news. There were now, he said, no divisions
in the army of Bihar, and the land, by Jalal Khan's desertion, was
his. He enlisted more troops and advanced against the army of
Bengal, but, owing to his numerical inferiority, entrenched himself
and refrained from attacking the enemy in force. Reinforcements
were summoned from Bengal, and Sher Khan found it necessary to
give battle before these should arrive. By the well-known stratagem
of a feigned flight his first line drew the enemy's cavalry away from
his artillery and elephants, and Sher Khan then fell on it with his
3


## p. 49 (#81) ##############################################

HUMAYUN DEFEATS MAHMUD LODI
49
reserves and routed it. The commander was slain while attempting
to flee, Jalal Khan escaped with great difficulty into Bengal, and
the treasure, the elephants and the artillery of Bengal fell into the
hands of Sher Khan, who was now the unquestioned sovereign of
Bihar.
He next acquired possession of the strong fortress of Chunar, on
the Ganges, from the widow of its commandant, whom he married
at the suggestion of her principal officer. The acquisition of the
fortress and of the great treasure which it contained added greatly
to Sher Khan's power and influence as well as to his resources, but
he was now seriously embarrassed.
Mahmud Lodi, the brother of Ibrahim Lodi, had been expected
to arrive in Bihar a few years before this time, but he had taken
refuge with Sangram Singh, the Rana of Chitor, and had taken
part with him in the battle of Khanua. After the battle he had
returned to Chitor, but he now left Rajputana, and, at the invitation
of some of the nobles of the Lodi court, who had settled in Patna,
made that city his headquarters. He was a mere fugitive, but he
represented the old Afghan royal house and assumed royal state.
Sher Khan was summoned to appear before him and could not
refuse to obey without belying all the principles of unity which he
had so persistently preached. He was informed that his assignment
was confirmed but that in order to provide for Mahmud's nobles
and retinue he was obliged to resume, for the present, the rest of
Bihar, which would be restored to Sher Khan when the prince had
established himself on the throne. Sher Khan submitted and retired
to Sasaram, ostensibly in order to prepare forces to accompany the
prince in a projected expedition into Oudh.
When the prince summoned Sher Khan to bring his contingent,
he replied that his troops were not yet ready and that he would join
him later. Mahmud Lodi's officers pointed out that Sher Khan had
already once served the Mughuls, and suggested that he was now
temporising. They advised a line of march by way of Sasaram so
as to compel him to accompany the army. Sher Khan made the
best of his failure and, after giving Mahmud a royal reception,
accompanied him.
Humayun's officers fled from Jaunpur on the approach of the
Afghans, and Mahmud sent his forces forward and occupied Lucknow.
When the news of the loss of Lucknow reached Agra Humayun
marched towards Jaunpur, and his army and that of Mahmud Lodi
met at Daunrua, where the latter was severely defeated and com-
pelled to retire into Bihar. Being unable to raise a fresh army there,
he withdrew into Orissa, where he passed the few remaining years
of his life, in sensual pleasures, until his death in 1542.
After the battle Humayun demanded the surrender of the important
fortress, Chunar, from Sher Khan, who had failed to support Mahmud
4


## p. 50 (#82) ##############################################

50
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
Lodi, and had promised obedience to the Mughuls. On his refusal
Humayun prepared to besiege Chunar, but was diverted by news
of the raid made by Tatar Khan as related in chapter 11 (p. 23) and
set out for Gujarat accompanied by Qutb Khan, son of Sher Khan,
with a small force.
During Humayun's absence in Gujarat, Sher Khan spared no
efforts in consolidating his power in Bihar, and was joined by his
son Qutb Khan, who deserted Humayun's camp in Gujarat, and by
most of the leading Afghans in Bahadur's service, who abandoned
him when he was in difficulties. Sher Khan then attacked the king-
dom of Bengal and annexed all of its territory which lay to the west
of Teliyagarhi.
When Humayun returned from Gujarat to Agra he was warned
that Sher Khan had grown so powerful as to have become a danger
to the empire, but he contented himself with sending Hindu Beg to
Jaunpur with orders to report on the situation. Hindu Beg had ever
been favourably disposed to Sher Khan, and was easily induced to
report that the emperor had nothing to fear from him.
Sher Khan, having thus, as he believed, set the emperor's mind at
rest, sent an army under his son, Jalal Khan, to complete the annexa-
tion of Bengal, and Sultan Mahmud, too weak to meet the invaders
in the field, appealed to Humayun and took refuge in Gaur where
he was besieged by Jalal Khan and Khavass Khan, who had now
become Sher Khan's most capable, loyal and enterprising officer.
Sher Khan's son, Jalal Khan, leaving Khavass Khan in charge
of the siege of Gaur, marched to hold Teliyagarhi, "the gate of
Bengal”. Gaur was obliged, by lack of provisions, to surrender to
Khavass Khan, and Sultan Mahmud of Bengal took refuge with
Humayun. Sher Khan had found an asylum in the strong fortress
of Rohtas. The Mughul historians tell an absurd story, invented in
order to besmirch the character of Sher Khan, of his gaining pos-
session of Rohtas by smuggling into the fortress, in litters, as though
they had been veiled ladies, a large number of his men-at-arms; but
the true story is discreditable enough to him. He first obtained from
Churaman, the raja's Brahman minister, a promise of shelter in the
fort. The raja prudently objected that it was dangerous to admit a
force strong enough to overpower the garrison, but Churaman insisted
that his word had been passed and that nothing was to be feared
from Sher Khan. The raja yielded against his better judgement, the
Afghans were admitted, and Sher Khan in a short time expelled the
garrison and took possession of the fortress.
Then, while Humayun was making an easy conguest of a defence-
less but devastated area, Sher Khan, who had hitherto carefully
avoided facing him in the field, set about cutting his communications.
He besieged Benares and sent Khavass Khan, whom he had recalled
from Gaur, to Monghyr with instructions to seize the officer whom


## p. 51 (#83) ##############################################

HUMAYUN DEFEATED AT CHAUSA AND KANAUJ 51
Humayun had left in command of that city. Khayass Khan captured
this officer and carried him to Benares, which city Sher Khan shortly
afterwards took, putting nearly the whole garrison to the sword. He
then sent forces to Jaunpur, Sambhal and Bahraich, each of which
towns was captured, the imperial garrison being expelled, and ordered
the force which had captured Jaunpur to march on Agra, where
Humayun's brother, Hindal Mirza, had rebelled after slaying the
envoy whom Humayun himself had sent to urge him to remain loyal.
Sher Khan now assembled all his forces in the neighbourhood of
Rohtas and awaited an opportunity of attacking Humayun as he
attempted to extricate his demoralised army from Bengal. The pre.
text was that Humayun, who had promised him the kingdom of
Bengal, had broken faith with him and taken the kingdom for him-
self. At the battle of Chausa on 26 June, 1539, Humayun was com-
pletely defeated and fled to Agra.
Sher Khan now struck coin 1 and caused the khutba to be recited
in his own name and assumed the royal title, styling himself Farid-
ud-din Sher Shah. A force sent to Gaur defeated and slew the officer
whom Humayun had left to hold that city, and Sher Shah, following
Humayun towards Agra, occupied the country as far west as Kanauj
and Kalpi, and sent a mission to Malwa and Gujarat promising help
if they menaced Humayun from the west. Gujarat was too disturbed
to take part in a general attack on the emperor, but Mallu Khan
of Mandu, who had assumed the title of Qadir Shah, returned a
favourable reply, though he aroused the wrath of Sher Shah by
writing after the manner of a sovereign prince.
News was received that Humayun was marching towards Kanauj
in order to meet the Afghan army there, and Sher Shah sent his son
Qutb Khan towards Mandu to urge Qadir Shah to fulfil his promise.
Qadir Shah, however, showed no sign of support and Humayun
despatched his brothers 'Askari and Hindal against him. Qutb Khan
was defeated and slain by them on his way from Kalpi to Chanderi,
and the two princes rejoined their brother. Humayun reached
Kanauj in April 1540, and found Sher Shah encamped on the east
bank of the Ganges over against him. Crossing the river he again
encountered Sher Shah on 17 May, again sustained a crushing defeat
(chap. II, p. 34), and fled through Agra to the north.
Sher Shah despatched a force to besiege Gwalior, sent another to
Sambhal, to secure and pacify the country to the east of the Ganges,
and pursued Humayun first to Agra and thence, as he continued his
flight, to Lahore. From Lahore Kamran Mirza retired to Kabul,
and Humayun into Sind, and Sher Shah, having pursued him for
some distance, returned to Lahore. He had now driven his foes from
Bengal, Bihar, Hindustan and the Punjab, had received the submission
of the Baloch chiefs on the frontier, and was at leisure to turn his
1 Earliest known date 945 A. H. (May 1538-May 1539 A. D. ). 2 See vol. II, p. 369.


## p. 52 (#84) ##############################################

52
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
attention to domestic affairs. To guard his northern frontier he
selected the site of a great fortress in the hills ten miles north of
Jhelum, which he named Rohtas, after his stronghold in the hills
of Bihar.
Sher Shah now learned that his governor of Bengal had married
a daughter of Sultan Mahmud of that country, and was meditating
rebellion, so he set out at once for Gaur. Here he punished the
governor, by imprisonment in chains, for his presumption in marrying
without leave, and for having held courts in the royal manner. Sher
Shah then remodelled the administration of Bengal to avert the
danger of rebellion. He divided the country into a number of
charges but appointed no governor or viceroy, and gave to no official
authority over another, but appointed a jurist as supervisor of all,
with instructions to see that the charges were properly administered,
that all money due to the treasury was regularly remitted, and that
the officials abstained from conspiracy. He then returned to Agra.
In 1542 he invaded Malwa with a view to punishing Qadir Shah
for having assumed the royal title and for having failed to support
his son Qutb Khan. On his way he halted at Gwalior and received
the submission of the governor of that fortress, who had promised
that he would surrender when Sher Shah arrived. He then marched
on to Sarangpur, where Qadir Shah appeared before him, made his
submission, and was kindly received and honourably treated, and
accompanied Sher Shah to Ujjain. Here Sher Shah promised him
the government of a province instead of that of Malwa, of which he
had been deprived, but he became apprehensive of the king's inten-
tions towards him, and made his escape, taking refuge with Mahmud
III of Gujarat.
On his way back to Agra from Malwa, Sher Shah persuaded the
commandant of Ranthambhor to surrender that fortress to him.
and after his return he remained for a year in Agra, engaged in
reorganising the administration of his empire, in the laying out of
roads, and the erection of public buildings. Sher Shah then paid a
visit of inspection to Bihar and Bengal, in the course of which he
suffered so severely from malaria as to believe himself to be at the
point of death, and to vow that if God spared his life and restored
him to health he would punish Puran Mal for his offences against
Islam. 1
Puran Mal of Raisen had, not long before this time, attacked and
captured Chanderi, put its inhabitants to the sword, added to his
territory the country around that town, and enslaved many women,
Muslims as well as Hindus, some of whom he employed as dancing
girls. The punishment of such offences as these was incumbent on a
faithful Muslim, and Sher Shah, when sufficiently recovered, returned
to Agra and in 1543 set out for Mandu, whence he marched to Raisen.
1 See vol. III, p. 370.


## p. 53 (#85) ##############################################

PURAN MAL OF RAISEN
63
The siege of the fortress was protracted until the Hindus were reduced
to distress, and at length Puran Mal came forth on receiving a solemn
oath that the lives and property of himself and his relations would
be safe. For a while, he and his clansmen were lodged in peace, but
the widows of the slaughtered Muslims of Chanderi assembled and,
waiting by the roadside, assailed Sher Shah with loud lamentations.
Sher Shah's blood boiled, but he was perplexed by the oath on the
Qur'an which had enticed Puran Mal from his stronghold. The
Muslim casuists set his mind at rest by declaring that an oath which
should never have been sworn bound none, and Sher Shah prepared
for the deed which has left the deepest blot on his memory.
The elephants were collected as for a march on the following day,
and during the night the troops were posted round the Rajput camp.
At sunrise Puran Mal saw that his fate was sealed. He severed his
wife's head from her body, and, bearing it in his hands, commanded
his clansmen to follow his example. The Afghan troops fell on them
while they were engaged in the ghastly task of slaughtering their
wives and daughters, and they fought gallantly, "like hogs at bay”
as a Muslim historian records, but they were cut down by the
Afghans and trampled to death by the elephants and not a man
escaped. A few women and children were taken alive; a daughter
of Puran Mal was given to some ministers to be trained as a dancing
girl, and three sons of his elder brother were castrated.
Sher Shah, after reaching Raisen, had received a message from
Khavass Khan to the effect that he and Haibat Khan who had been
left at Rohtas could not agree. That two Afghan chiefs should thus
seek arbitration, even of their king, rather than settle their differences
by the sword, speaks volumes for Sher Shah's influence over his
quarrelsome fellow-countrymen. Sher Shah recalled Khavass Khan
from the Punjab and left Haibat Khan in the government of that
province, with instructions to reduce it to order. Since the flight of
Humayun, Fath Khan Jat had been in rebellion and had preyed
upon travellers on the high roads between Delhi and Lahore, while
the Baloch had been governing the city and district of Multan solely
in their own interests. Haibat Khan dealt first with the Jat, who had
established himself in Ajudhan (Pak Pattan) but fled and retired
into a mud fort where he was besieged. In a few days' time he sur-
rendered himself and was imprisoned, but there still remained in the
fort Hindu Baloch and Bakhshu Langah, whose men cut their way
through the besiegers, leaving their leaders in Haibat Khan's hands.
Haibat Khan then marched on Multan and induced some of its
citizens and husbandmen to return. He reported his success to Sher
Shah, who rewarded him and at the same time commanded him to
repeople Multan, “to observe the customs of the Langahs”,1 and not
to measure the land, but to content himself with one-fourth of its gross
1 See vol. II, pp. 503-5.


## p. 54 (#86) ##############################################

54
SHER SHAH AND THE SUR DYNASTY
produce. Fath Khan Jat and Hindu Baloch were put to death, but
Sher Shah ordered Haibat Khan to spare the lives of Bakhshu Langah
and his son, to restore to them their lands, and to retain one of them
always with him as a hostage. Haibat Khan returned to Lahore,
leaving in Multan Fath Jang Khan, who completely restored the
prosperity of the city and the province so that they flourished even
more than under the Langahs. These references to the prosperity of
Multan under the Langahs are instructive, both as to the character
of that dynasty, of which little is known, but which evidently identi-
fied itself with the interests of its subjects, and as to the justice of
Sher Shah and the historians of his line in admitting that a dynasty
which had been in rebellion against Afghan Sultans of Delhi had
left behind it a reputation worthy of emulation.
Before leaving Raisen Sher Shah had wisely rejected the advice
of some of his counsellors to invade the Deccan. For years past the
Rajputs had been a persistent menace to Muslim rule in northern
India. Sangram Singh of Mewar had defeated and captured
Mahmud II of Malwa though he was aided by a contingent of
10,000 horse from Gujarat, and had later borne a part in inviting
Babur to India with the object of profiting by the dissensions of the
Muslims. At Khanua he had wellnigh succeeded in subverting
Muslim rule in Hindustan, and, though the capture of Chitor by
Bahadur of Gujarat in 1534 had broken the power of Mewar, other
chiefs had taken the place of the Rana. Puran Mal, who had taken
advantage of the hostilities between Sher Shah and Humayun to
found an independent principality in Malwa, had been crushed, but
the great state of Marwar had become dangerous to Sher Shah's rule.
Its sovereign, Maldeo the Rathor, had established his influence in
Mewar, had recovered Ajmer and Nagaur, and while Babur and
Humayun were establishing their dominion over Hindustan proper
had annexed fortresses and districts which had been held by officers
of the Lodi dynasty. Sher Shah had good reason to be alarmed by
the growth of a hostile power on the borders of his dominions, and in
the autumn of 1543 marched from Agra with the greatest army which
he had ever led in the field to attack Maldeo. He adopted his usual
precaution of entrenching his camp at every halt, but on entering
the sandy desert of Rajasthan found it impossible to throw up a
parapet. His grandson, Mahmud Khan, said to have been only seven
years of age, suggested that the parapet should be constructed of
sacks filled with sand, and this precocious young soldier seems to
have been the inventor of sandbags in the East.
Sher Shah, with his army of 80,000 horse, came into contact with
Maldeo in the neighbourhood of Ajmer but hesitated to attack
though opposed by only 50,000 horse. For a month the two armies
lay opposite to one another and Sher Shah's situation had become
critical, owing to lack of supplies, before he used a device not infre-


## p. 55 (#87) ##############################################

DEATH OF SHER SHAH AND CHARACTER
55
quently employed in eastern warfare. Causing letters to be written
to himself, as from Maldeo's thakurs, or nobles, promising that they
would deliver their master into his hands, he had them enclosed in a
silken bag which was dropped, as though by accident, near Maldeo's
tent. It was picked up and carried to Maldeo, who was dismayed
by what he deemed the treachery of his thakurs.