No More Learning

He had freed himself from all malign influences and was
able to pursue his own high ideals. With all his faults and all his
foibles, and they were many, he was a truly great ruler and was the
first of the Muslim sovereigns of India to conceive the idea of dealing
impartially with all his subjects, whether Hindus or Muslims. It may
also be said that he was the last. Henceforward the chronicle of his
reign is the story of the man, not of the influence of this or that
minister or faction.
The province of Kabul was governed nominally by Akbar's younger
brother, prince Muhammad Hakim, but the management of its
affairs was in the hands of his guardian, who at the beginning
of the reign had been Mun'im Khan. When he came to court on
the occasion of Bairam Khan's fall he left his son, Ghani Khan, to
1 Akbar, the Great Mogul, p. 63.
!


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CONFUSION AT KABUL
85
act for him, but the young man was unequal to the task. He could
manage neither the turbulent populace of Kabul nor the prince's
mother, who was a power in the state, and during a temporary
absence from the town the gates were shut against him by the
princess, Mah Chuchak Begam, and by his own uncle, Fazil (or
Fazail) Beg. Ghani Khan retired to Akbar's court and Fazil Beg
took his place, but left all business in the hands of his son, Abu-'l-Fath.
Abu-'l-Fath's behaviour estranged him both from the old nobles of
Kabul and from Mah Chuchak Begam, and he was assassinated.
Fazil Beg attempted to escape but was captured and shared the fate
of his son.
Mun‘im Khan was now reappointed to Kabul and, over-estimating
his popularity, hastened thither with an inadequate force. He was
attacked and defeated near Jalalabad by Mah Chuchak Begam and
fled to the Gakkhar country, whence he wrote to Akbar begging that
he might be permitted either to make the pilgrimage to Mecca or
to hide his shame in the Punjab, but Akbar consoled him, recalled
him to court, and made him governor of Agra.
Affairs at Kabul were now thrown into greater confusion than ever
by the arrival of the stormy petrel, Shah Abu-'l-Ma'ali, who, having
escaped from his prison at Lahore, had performed the pilgrimage to
Mecca, whence he returned ready to seize any opportunity of foment-
ing strife and stirring up sedition. At Jalor he had found Saraf-ud-din
Husain, one of the conspirators who had fled from court after the
murder of Atga Khan, and at his instigation had taken possession
of Narnaul and had defeated and slain Isma'il Quli and Ahmad Beg,
who had been sent against him by Husain Quli Khan, then engaged
in an attempt to capture Sharaf-ud-din Husain. Isma'il Quli and
Ahmad Beg had, however, before their final defeat and death, driven
Abu-'l-Ma'ali from Narnaul and captured his brother, Khanzada
Muhammad, and as one imperial officer after another closed the
gate of their fortresses against him and he heard that Akbar was
marching from Agra to Delhi he resolved to take refuge at Kabul,
where he hoped to be able to obtain possession of the person of
Muhammad Hakim Mirza, whom he might set up as a pretender to
the imperial throne in opposition to Akbar.
He fled through the Punjab, fruitlessly pursued by the imperial
troops, and was kindly received_at Kabul by Mah Chuchak Begam,
who gave him her daughter, Fakhr-un-Nisa Begam, in marriage.
She soon had reason to repent her courtesy to the turbulent and
ambitious Sayyid, who formed a party of the malcontents in the state,
put to death his benefactress and her agent, Haidar Qasim Kuhbur,
and took the management of affairs into his own hands. The young
prince Muhammad Hakim now secretly appealed for aid to Mirza
Sulaiman of Badakhshan, who marched on Kabul. Shah Abu-'l-
Ma'ali, carrying with him the prince, went forth to meet him, but


## p. 86 (#118) #############################################

86
AKBAR, 1556-1573
during the battle which ensued the prince found an opportunity of
escaping to the enemy and the Kabulis, seeing that he had taken
refuge with Mirza Sulaiman, dispersed. Shah Abu-'l-Maʻali fled, but
was pursued, taken and hanged on 13 May, 1564.
Mirza Sulaiman then married his daughter to Muhammad Hakim,
distributed the province among his own adherents, appointed Ummid
'Ali guardian of the prince and returned to Badakhshan.
The "foster-father cohort" was importunate for vengeance on
those who had been concerned in the murder of Atga Khan, but
Akbar, who had pardoned and reinstated two and could not lay his
hand on the third of the conspirators, did not meet their demand and
found it necessary to divert their attention by active employment.
A plausible pretext for interfering in the affairs of the Gakkhars
offered him an opportunity. Sultan Sarang, who had been confirmed
by Babur as chief of the Gakkhars, had been put to death by Islam
Khan Sur and his son Kamal Khan was in Akbar's service. The
leadership of the tribe had been seized by Kamal Khan's uncle,
Sultan Adam, and Kamal, who had rendered distinguished services
against the Afghans at Jaunpur, begged Akbar to restore him to at
least half of his inheritance. Akbar accordingly called upon Sultan
Adam to surrender to his nephew half of the tribal territory and, on
his refusing to comply, fitted out an expedition the command of which
he gave to Khan Kalan and Qutb-ud-din Khan, two of Atga Khan's
three brothers. The expedition was successful. Sultan Adam and his
son Lashkari were captured and Kamal Khan was placed in pos-
session of the Gakkhar country, which lay between the Indus and the
frontier of Kashmir. He put his uncle to death and threw his cousin
into prison, where he shortly afterwards died.
Akbar was hunting at Muttra when he heard of the death of Isma‘il
Quli and Ahmad Beg, near Nagaur, at the hands of Shah Abu-'l-Maʻali,
and on receiving the news marched to Delhi with a view to cutting off
the rebel, but the report of his movement so accelerated Abu-'l-Ma'ali's
flight that by the time the emperor reached Delhi arrest was impossible.
While at Muttra Akbar abolished the tax levied on Hindu pilgrims
visiting the town, another instance of his clemency to his Hindu
subjects.
At Delhi one of the most discreditable episodes of his life occurred.
He chanced to see and to fall in love with an extremely beautiful
woman, the wife of one Shaikh 'Abdul-Wasi, and sent a message
to the Shaikh reminding him of the article in the code of Chingiz
Khan to the effect that the husband of any woman whom the sovereign
may desire is bound to divorce his wife and surrender her to his lord.
The Shaikh was complaisant, divorced his wife and retired to Bidar
in the Deccan. The woman through whom Akbar had become
acquainted with the Shaikh's wife now suggested that he should in
like manner connect himself with the leading families of Delhi and
>


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87
MUZAFFAR 'ALI APPOINTED DIWAN
Agra, and pandars and eunuchs were employed to inspect secretly
the harems of the leading men of the city and report the discovery
of any woman of special beauty. This invasion of the sanctity of the
home caused much murmuring and discontent, and on 12 January,
1564, as Akbar was returning from a visit to the tomb of Shaikh
Nizam-ud-din Auliya, a slave named Fulad shot an arrow at him which
inflicted no more than a slight flesh wound. There appears to be no
doubt, though another motive has been assigned for the act, that the
attempt was connected with Akbar's designs on the honour and hap-
piness of his subjects. He, at any rate, so regarded it and caused the
assassin to be put to death on the spot, without inquiring, as his advi-
sers urged, what had been his motive and who were his instigators. He
abandoned his disgraceful search, and no more is heard throughout
his reign of his molesting the wives and daughters of his subjects.
In this year he made another appointment which indicated his
intention of bringing the whole of the administration of the empire
under his personal control. Muzaffar 'Ali of Turbat, who had been
in Bairam Khan's service and whose life had been spared in spite
of the efforts of the harem party to procure his condemnation, had
since done good service as collector of a sub-district and superintend-
ent of the imperial stores. He was now entitled Muzaffar Khan and
appointed Diwan, or revenue minister, of the empire.
From Delhi Akbar returned, on 10 February, to Agra, where he
was on 11 March, the beginning of the ninth regnal year, which was
signalised by the abolition of the jizya, or poll-tax, on Hindus and
other non-Muslims. Badauni places this event in the year 1579 and,
strange to say, does not condemn it. 1
This year was marred by another domestic tragedy. Akbar's
maternal uncle Khvaja Mu'azzam, a violent and irresponsible man,
had threatened to murder his wife, and Akbar rode to his house to
the east of the Jumna to forestall the crime, only to find that it had
already been committed. The murderer was seized, roughly handled,
and ducked in the river in the hope that he would drown, but came
out alive and was sent to Gwalior, where he presently died insane.
This event marks Akbar's final emancipation from family influence,
ur rather from that of blood relations, for there is no doubt that in
later years he was influenced, like Solomon, by his wives, who fami-
liarised him with Hindu doctrines and practices.
Asaf Khan, the governor of Kara, who had recently reduced to
obedience Ram Chand Baghel, Raja of Bhath,2 was now ordered
to subdue the Gond kingdom of Garha-Katanga, known to English
historians as Garha-Mandla, which had existed for nearly ten cen-
turies and extended from Ratanpur on the east to Raisen in Malwa
11, 276.
2 Sometimes wrongly transliterated as Panna. Now
in Rewah state. See Hirananda Shastri, “The Baghela dynasty of Rewah",
Memoir no. 21, Arch. Survey of India. (Ed. )


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88
AKBAR, 1556-1573
1
1
on the west and from the southern border of the Bhath principality
on the north to the frontier of the Deccan on the south. At this time
the Rani Durgavati, a princess of the Chandel dynasty of Mahoba,
was regent of the kingdom for her son, Bir Narayan, who, though he
had attained manhood, left the management of affairs in her hands.
She governed wisely and well, and had fought with unvarying success
against both Baz Bahadur and the Afghans. Her army consisted of
20,000 horse and 1000 elephants, and besides being an intrepid warrior
she was devoted to field sports.
Asaf Khan advanced with 10,000 horse and a large force of foot
to Damoh, where he halted and was joined by petty chiefs who
brought his strength in horse up to 50,000. Durgavati and her son,
with an army greatly inferior in numbers, advanced to meet him and
chose a defensive position at Narhi to the east of Garha. Here, with
her 5000 men, she stoutly withsood the invaders for two days, but
on the second her son was wounded and she sent him from the field.
The withdrawal of his escort so weakened her small army that it was
almost immediately overpowered. She was wounded with two arrows
and stabbed herself to avoid capture.
Asaf Khan marched from Narhi to Chauragarh, the capital of the
Gond kingdom, where Bir Narayan, wounded as he was, came out to
give him battle, but was defeated and slain, so that the fortress fell at
once into the hands of the Mughuls. The raja's servants, obeying the
orders which they had received from their master, burnt all the females
of his house except two, who miraculously escaped and were saved
and sent to Akbar. One of these was Kamlavati, sister of Durgavati.
The spoils taken by Asaf Khan were immense, and comprised
jewels and rich stuffs, gold and silver both coined and uncoined and
in the form of idols, and a thousand elephants. Asaf Khan remained
at Chauragarh to administer his conguest and retained for himself
all the jewels and stuffs and 800 of the 1000 elephants, but Akbar
paid no heed to his contumacy at the time.
This act of aggression was entirely unprovoked and there was not
the shadow of a pretext for it except Akbar's own frankly expressed
view of a king's duties, “A monarch should be ever intent on con-
quest, otherwise his neighbours rise in arms against him. " There is
nothing surprising in the discovery that an eastern monarch of the
sixteenth century was a mere annexationist requiring no excuse for
attacking his neighbours beyond a desire to acquire their possessions,
but Akbar has been so extravagantly lauded, not only by his own
secretary but also by some modern writers, that it is necessary to
remember that in this respect at least he was no better than other
eastern rulers of his age.
It was now reported at court that 'Abdullah Khan the Uzbeg,
who held the government of Malwa, was preparing to rise in rebel-
lion, and Akbar left Agra on 1 July and marched to Narwar on the
1
1
1


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MALWA REBELLION. AGRA FORT BEGUN
89
pretext of an elephant hunt. Heavy rains detained him for nearly
a fortnight on the banks of the Chambal and it was with the utmost
difficulty that the march was continued through Malwa. 'Abdullah,
although envoys were sent to reassure him, fled from Mandu as
Akbar approached, but the emperor pursued him, came up with him
at Lawani, only seven miles from Mandu, and though the rapidity of
Akbar's march had left him with no more than 300 men he attacked
and defeated 'Abdullah, capturing not only his elephants but the
women of his harem. 'Abdullah fled to Gujarat; Akbar returned
to Mandu and sent an emissary to Chingiz Khan, the regent of
Gujarat, to demand the surrender or dismissal of the fugitive.
Chingiz Khan sent a conciliatory reply begging forgiveness for
‘Abdullah and promising to dismiss him if he were not pardoned.
Akbar remained for nearly a month at Mandu, setting in order the
affairs of Malwa. He also sent a mission to Mubarak Shah II of
Khandesh, demanding of him a daughter in marriage. Mubarak com-
plied with the demand and Akbar's new bride was conducted from
Burhanpur to Mandu by I'timiad Khan the eunuch. Qara Bahadur
Khan, a cousin of Mirza Haidar the historian and conqueror of Kash-
mir, was appointed to the government of Malwa, and Akbar, after an
unsuccessful attempt to induce Baz Bahadur to leave Dungarpur and
make his submission, returned to Agra, arriving there on 9 October.
He now had some leisure which he employed in indulging his
passion for building. He had been attracted by the situation of the
village of Kakrali, seven miles to the south of Agra, and there built
himself a palace, to serve as a hunting lodge and pleasure house.
The courtiers were encouraged to build houses for themselves, gardens
were laid out, and a small town sprang up round the palace. To this
Akbar gave the name of Nagarchain, or "abode of ease", and here
he amused himself with coursing, pigeon-flying, and polo, which he
played at night with balls made of the wood of the dhak or palas
tree (Butea frondosa) which smoulders when ignited.
Nagarchain was deserted when Fathpur Sikri became, some years
later, Akbar's favourite abode, and by the end of the reign scarcely
a trace remained of it. Dr Vincent Smith says that there still exist
trifling remains of mosques and a well.
At the same time Akbar undertook the restoration of Agra, the
eld brick fort of which had become ruinous. He had already adorned
the city with two new buildings and he now gave orders for the
construction of the fort of stone, which still stands, to replace the
old fort. The new fort was fifteen years in building and cost three
million and a half rupees, equivalent to nearly £ 400,000 sterling.
According to Abu-'l-Fazl Akbar erected at Agra "more than five
hundred buildings of masonry, after the beautiful designs of Bengal
and Gujarat, which masterly sculptors and cunning artists of form
have fashioned as architectural models". The old Agra of the Lodi


## p. 90 (#122) #############################################

90
AKBAR, 1556-1573
dynasty, a comparatively mean town, lay on the left bank of the river
and was replaced by Akbar's magnificent city on the right bank, the
name of which was altered by his grandson Shah Jahan to Akbarabad
and fittingly commemorates its great builder.
While Akbar was thus employed in restoring order in Malwa and
in building, Khan Zaman brought a very doubtful campaign ir.
Bihar to a successful conclusion, snatching victory from the very jaws
of defeat. The Afghans invaded Bihar in force and occupied the
province, including some of Khan Zaman's assignments, which lay
on its frontier. Khan Zaman marched to repel them but, finding them
too strong to be attacked, entrenched himself at Andhyari Bari on
the Son. While he was there he was visited by some emissaries from
Akbar's court who had been sent to convey promises of favour and
protection to Sulaiman Kararani, king of Bengal, but had also been
ordered to obtain satisfactory guarantees from Khan Zaman, who
had long ceased to correspond with the central government and whose
loyalty was suspected. They were still awaiting his answer when the
Afghans attacked the entrenched camp. Khan Zaman drew up his
army to receive them but it was overpowered and put to flight, and
the Afghans began to plunder the camp. Khan Zaman, with a few
attendants, withdrew to one of the bastions of the fortifications and
thence fired a mortar or howitzer, killing the elephant ridden by
Hasan Khan, brother of Fath Khan, the commander of the Afghan
army. Hasan Khan's contingent at once took to flight and at the same
time a vicious elephant from the Afghan camp broke its chains, slew
another elephant in the field, and threw the whole Afghan force,
who believed that they had fallen into an ambush, into confusion,
They broke and fled and the Mughul troops, rallied by Khan Zaman,
pursued them with great slaughter, taking much booty. Khan Zaman
then returned to Jaunpur and on his way dismissed the emperor's en-
voys at Zamaniya, without vouchsafing an answer to their proposals.
Akbar's next attempt at reforming the general administration was
unfortunate. Khvaja Muhammad Salih was removed frcm the post
of Sadr-us-Sudur and Shaikh 'Abdun-Nabi was appointed in his place,
in the belief that he would be more likely than his predecessor to
collaborate with Muzaffar Khan, the revenue minister, in limiting
the expenditure on free grants of land or money to those who devoted
their lives to scholarship or religion; but the selection was unfortunate,
for 'Abdun-Nabi was a narrow-minded ecclesiastic who held that
any pretensions to piety or learning entitled the pretender to live
luxuriously at the public expense, and proved "a sair sanct for the
Crown". Grants on a scale hitherto unheard of were assigned with
a lavish hand and the Shaikh paid no heed to the revenue minister.
He succeeded, however, in retaining his appointment until 1578 and
when he ultimately fell into disfavour it was not for dishonesty or
administrative incapacity.


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UZBEGS IN INDIA REBEL
91
The Uzbegs in Akbar's service formed a family party, the members
cf which were employed for the most part in the eastern province
of the empire. Khan Zaman, their chief, held Jaunpur while his
brother, Bahadur Khan, was in the same neighbourhocd; Ibrahim
Khan, their uncle, was at Surhurpur, north of Jaunpur, and I kandar
Khan, entitled Khan 'Alam, another member of the family, held
Oudh. They were proud of their descent from the royal line of
Shaiban and it was to them, after Bairam Khan, that Akbar chiefly
owed his throne. They had some reason for considering that their
services had been ill rewarded. Their retention in the eastern pro-
vinces where what may be called active service conditions continually
prevailed, amounted in effect to banishment from court, where they
saw Persians and others advanced to the highest posts, and they
resented their exclusion from favour. Akbar is said to have been so
indiscreet as to attribute all his father's troubles to the Uzbegs and
his promptitude in proceeding against 'Abdullah Khan in Malwa,
on what appeared to them to be mere suspicion, was regarded as
proof positive of his hatred of all the tribe. Their isolation, while it
aroused their resentment, was favourable to the growth of a spirit
of independence, for the expenses of their military establishment
furnished them with a pretext for not contributing to the imperial
exchequer. Khan Zaman's unceremonious reception and dismissal
of the imperial envoys had been sufficient to convince Akbar of his
disaffection, and Ashraf Khan, who was usually employed on such
missions, was sent early in 1565 to Iskandar Khan, who was believed
to be more amenable, but the Uzbegs were resolved to stand or fall
together and Iskandar would give Ashraf no answer until he had
met his relatives at Jaunpur, where in a family conclave they resolved
to take up arms and decided on a plan of campaign. Iskandar and
Ibrahim were to march on Kanauj and raise the country in that
direction and Khan Zaman and Bahadur were to attack Manikpur,
held for Akbar by Majnun Khan Qaqshal.
Ibrahim and Iskandar defeated on their way to Kanauj a small
force of Akbar's troops and Khan Zaman and Bahadur besieged
Majnun Khan in Manikpur. Asaf Khan, whom he summoned to
his aid from Chauragarh, relieved the pressure of the siege but their
combined forces were not strong enough to attack the rebels.
When Akbar received reports of the situation he at once despatched
Mun'im Khan, with such troops as were ready for the field, to Kanauj
, and on 24 May left Agra, with a large force, to join him, marching
by night owing to the heat of the weather.
Ten days were spent at Kanauj in preparations for the passage
of the Ganges but Akbar, on hearing that Iskandar was preparing
to make a stand at Lucknow, crossed the river and, covering the
70 miles between Kanauj and Lucknow in two nights and a day,
surprised Iskandar and forced him to flee. The horses of the cavalry


## p. 92 (#124) #############################################

92
AKBAR, 1556-1573
were so spent that pursuit was impossible and Iskandar was thus able
to join Khan Zaman before Manikpur, but he, learning that Akbar
had occupied Lucknow, raised the siege, retreated with all speed
across the Ganges and took refuge in the rough and broken country
to the north-east of the Gumti.
Akbar halted at Lucknow until the remainder of his army came up
and then advanced, by easy stages, towards Jaunpur, which he reached
on 13 July, having been joined on the way by Majnun Khan and Asaf
Khan from Manikpur. The latter took this opportunity of presenting
Akbar some of the spoils of Chauragarh, and of making his peace.
The rebels now retired to the neighbourhood of Hajipur, whence
they sent envoys to seek aid of Sulaiman Kararani, the king of Ben-
gal. An emissary sent by Akbar to deter Sulaiman from assisting them
was intercepted and was detained in arrest in the rebel camp on his
refusing to act as an intermediary between Khan Zaman and Akbar,
The mission to Sulaiman having thus miscarried, Akbar sent a second,
to Mukund Deo, Raja of Orissa, requesting him to attack Sulaiman
in the event of the latter's taking any steps to support the rebels.
Mukund Deo promised to perform this service, and the envoys
eventually returned to court after Akbar's return to Nagarchain,
bringing with them several elephants and other valuable gifts.
Asaf Khan, though he had made his peace with Akbar, had not
propitiated Muzaffar Khan, the revenue minister, who accordingly
reminded him that the spoils of Chauragarh had not been accounted
for and that an investigation might be necessary. If his object was
to obtain his fee he was disappointed, for the suggestion so alarmed
Asaf Khan that he fled, on 17 September, to his governorship, evading
pursuit.
Khan Zaman was encamped at Narhan, on the Gogra, and Akbar's
field force was on the south bank of the river watching him. To create
a diversion he sent Bahadur Khan and Iskandar Khan into the country
north of the Gogra, the present Bahraich and Gonda districts, but
Akbar detached a second field force under Mir Mu'izz-ul-Mulk the
Sayyid to the Khairabad district to hold the Uzbegs in check and
marched to Allahabad to await the result of the operations.
Khan Zaman, much disappointed by perceiving that Akbar's
arrangements were in no way disturbed by the movements of
Bahadur and Iskandar, sent a message to Mun'im Khan, who was
favourably disposed towards him, opening negotiations for submission
and a pardon. Akbar had little confidence in the genuineness of the
rebel's repentance and not much more in the zeal and loyalty of
Mun'im Khan, but sent Khvaia Jahan, in whom Khan Zaman had
confidence, to arrange terms. It was agreed that Khan Zaman should
send his mother and his uncle Ibrahim to court and that they should
be followed, after he had been formally pardoned, by Baha lur and
Iskandar. Mun‘im Khan accompanied Khan Zaman's mother and


## p. 93 (#125) #############################################

UZBEGS DEFEATED AND PARDONED
93
Ibrahim Khan to court, and Khan Zaman was pardoned on con-
dition that he refrained from crossing the Gogra while the imperial
troops were in the field.
Mir Mu'izz-ul-Mulk had been joined in the Khairabad district
by Raja Todar Mal, and though both, as well as the two Uzbeg chiefs
opposed to them, were well aware of the progress of negotiations for
Knan Zaman's submission they ignored them and with the double
object of frustrating Mun'im Khan's efforts and of distinguishing
themselves in the field, deliberately provoked Bahadur and Iskandar
to hostilities. The armies met and the imperial troops suffered a
severe defeat and were forced to retreat on Kanauj, whence they
reported the disaster.
Akbar well knew where to place the blame, for the battle of Khaira-
bad was not allowed to affect the terms of the general pardon granted
to the rebels, and Mu'izz-ul-Mulk and Todar Mal were reprimanded
and for some time were not admitted to the imperial presence.
Akbar, who had returned to Jaunpur, marched in January, 1566,
to Benares, inspecting on his way the fortress of Chunar, which he
had not yet seen. His suspicions of Khan Zaman were soon justified,
for the rebel violated the terms of his pardon by crossing the Gogra
to Muhammadabad and sent detachments to Jaunpur and Goazipur.
Akbar reproached Mun'im Khan with his advocacy of a traitor so
perfidious and marched to attack him, ordering Ashraf Khan to
imprison his mother at Jaunpur. Khan Zaman fled across the Gogra
and Akbar captured his tents and baggage and sent a force in pursuit
of him, but it was ascertained that he had fled into the Himalaya
and the pursuers returned. Akbar then learnt that Bahadur Khan
had descended on Jaunpur, released his mother and imprisoned
Ashraf Khan, laid waste the district, and marched on to Benares,
which town and district also he plundered. He marched to Jaunpur
and punished the sloth and incompetence of the officers who had
permitted Bahadur to raid the town by declaring that it should be
his capital until the rebels were captured, and the threat was taken
so seriously that some began to build themselves houses. Khan
Zaman, on learning Akbar's decision, once more approached Mun'im
Khan with a view to a reconciliation, but Mun'im Khan dared not
again broach the subject to the emperor and other intermediaries
were employed. At their intercession Akbar, with an alacrity which
showed that he was weary of the campaign and was desirous of peace
at any price, pardoned the rebels and reinstated them in their posi-
tions. He reached Agra on 29 March and enjoyed some well-earned
leisure at Nagarchain.
Mahdi Qasim Khan was sent into Gondwana to seize the deserter
Asaf Khan, but the latter fled, and with his younger brother, Vazir
Khan, took refuge with Khan Zaman at Jaunpur.
Mahdi Qasim Khan, disgusted with the wild and unsettled country


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94
AKBAR, 1556-1573
7
which had fallen so easily into his hands, fled into the Deccan and
thence travelled to Mecca without permission and it became neces-
sary to send other officers to Gondwana to restore order in the
administration.
Asaf Khan and his brother soon had cause to repent having placed
themselves under the protection of Khan Zaman, who employed the
former on arduous duties and detained the latter in prison as a hostage
for his brother. With considerable difficulty, and not without having
recourse to arms, they succeeded in effecting their escape and fled
to Kara, where they were received by Majnun Khan. From Kara,
Vazir Khan went to court, to seek the emperor's forgiveness for his
brother. Akbar was now at Lahore, where Vazir Khan made his
submission and was graciously received. Asaf Khan was instructed
to remain with Majnun Khan at Manikpur or Kara and was informed
that he would be received when the court returned to Agra.
Akbar's leisure at Nagarchain had been interrupted and he had
been summoned northwards by the news that his brother, Muham-
mad Hakim, had invaded the Punjab and was besieging Lahore.
Muhammad Hakim's invasion of the Punjab, a poor return for
the assistance which Akbar had recently given him against Mirza
Sulaiman of Badakhshan, who had invaded his territories, was insti-
gated by some malcontents and mischief-makers at Kabul and
encouraged by messages from the Uzbeg rebels, who had been in
secret communication with him. Believing that the assignees in the
Punjab would espouse his cause, he marched on Lahore by way of
Bhera, on the Jhelum, but "the foster-father cohort”, Khan Kalan,
Qutb-ud-din Khan and Sharif Khan, had assembled their troops and
repaired the fortifications and Muhammad Hakim, encamped in the
gardens of Mahdi Qasim Khan, kept at a respectful distance by the
guns of the fortress.
Akbar set out from Agra on 16 November, 1566, reaching Delhi
ten days later, and Muhammad Hakim, on receiving this news, beat
a hasty retreat. Akbar did not hear of his flight until he reached
the Sutlej and from that river continued his march to Lahore, which
he reached at the end of January, 1567. A force sent in pursuit of
the prince returned on learning that he had crossed the Indus.
At Lahore Akbar was again disturbed, this time by news of the
rebellion of the princes known as "the Mirzas”, who were his distant
relations, being descended from 'Umar Shaikh Mirza, the second
son of Timur, while Akbar himself was descended from Jalal-ud-din
Miran Shah, the third. There were six brothers : (1) Ulugh Mirza,
(2) Shah Mirza, (3) Ibrahim Husain Mirza, (4) Muhammad Husain
Mirza, (5) Mas'ud Husain Mirza, and (6) 'Aqil Husain Mirza, of
whom the last four rebelled, together with two sons of the eldest,
Sikandar, also known as Ulugh Mirza, and Mahmud Sultan, also
known as Shah Mirza. They had been provided with assignments


## p. 95 (#127) #############################################

AKBAR'S SPORT
25
in the Sambhal and A'zampur districts and the nature of their
grievance is not recorded. They may have considered that the pro-
vision made for them was insufficient for princes of the house of
Timur but, if so, they were hardly reasonable, for the degree of their
relationship to Akbar was that of sixth cousins. They rose and occu-
pied some crown lands not included in their estates; Mun‘im Khan
marched against them and they fled into Malwa.
News yet more disquieting necessitated Akbar's return to his
capital. The Uzbegs of Jaunpur were again in open rebellion, had
proclaimed Muhammad Hakim, had caused the khutba to be recited
in his name at Jaunpur, and had invited him to make another
attempt to oust his brother.
Before leaving Lahore Akbar organised an enormous battue of big
game in the neighbourhood. Beaters, including the army, encircled
an area of over 60 by 60 miles and, contracting the circle day by
day, drove all living creatures towards the centre. About 15,000
wild animals of various kinds were counted, and the nobles, an
afterwards the people generally, were permitted to join in this
"sport”. Akbar himself was employed for five consecutive days in
slaughtering animals with sword, spear, musket and arrows. It may
be conceived that the recollection of this slaughter troubled his con-
science in later years, when he had adopted the Jain principle of the
sanctity of animal life.
On returning from the hunt to Lahore he swam his horse across
the Ravi, and of the courtiers who followed him two were drowned.
He left Lahore on 23 March and at Thanesar enjoyed a spectacle
even more exciting than his battue near Lahore, and equally repug-
nant to the opinions which he afterwards developed. Near the town
is Kurukshetra, the legendary site of the great battle between the
Pandavas and the Kauravas, and here were assembled two bands
of devotees, Sanyasis and Jogis, who, it appears, were wont to cele-
brate the anniversary of the battle by a mock combat. On this
occasion they had arranged that the combat should be fought in
earnest, for there was a quarrel due to one band having occupied
the site claimed by the other. Akbar sanctioned the proposal and
ordered or permitted some of his own infantry to reinforce the
Sanyasis, who could oppose only 300 men to the 500 mustered by
the Jogis. The miserable fanatics laid on and after a fierce contest
in which, to Akbar's delight and amusement, many lives were lost,
the Sanyasis were victorious.
When Akbar reached Agra, Khan Zaman was besieging Mirza
Yusuf Khan in Shergarh, near Kanauj, and Bahadur Khan was
besieging Majnun Khan and Asaf Khan in Manikpur. Qiya Khan
Gung was sent to the relief of Shergarh and Akbar followed him on
6 May. Khan Zaman, on learning that Akbar was marching in person
1 29° N. , 78° 10'E.


## p. 96 (#128) #############################################

96
AKBAR, 1556-1573
on Shergarh, raised the siege and marched to join Bahadur Khan
before Manikpur. Akbar accordingly detached a force to deal with
Iskandar Khan in Oudh.
He now had trouble with his own troops, who had in the previous
year carried on a tedious and laborious but fruitless campaign against
the Uzbegs, and had since marched to Lahore and back. There was
much sympathy with the rebels, and the troops disapproved of Akbar's
restless activity and preferred a more leisurely system of warfare,
but Akbar knew how to deal with discontent in his own army and
was resolved on this occasion to finish with the Uzbegs. He marched
from Rae Bareli on 7 June and, learning that the rebels had bridged
and crossed the Ganges at Singraur, sent the main body of his army
under Raja Bhagwan Das and Khvaja Jahan to cross the river at
Kara while he himself crossed it at Manikpur, when it was already
So swollen by the melting of the snows on the hills that only 1000
or 1500 men succeeded in crossing with him.
The rebels, meanwhile, were advancing towards Kara, between
which place and them lay only the troops commanded by Majnun
Khan Qaqshal and Asaf Khan. They did not know that Akbar had
reached the Ganges and did not believe that he could venture to
cross it. A scout's report that he had crossed was regarded as a trick
of Asaf Khan and Majnun Khan, and they spent the night in drinking
and debauchery while Akbar was halted on the south-western bank
of the Ganges within two miles of their camp. He marched to the
camp at sunrise on 9 June, and finding that they had already moved
towards Kara, sent his right wing under Majnun Khan to cut them
off, following him with his main body.
The imperial troops came up with the rebels at Fathpur Parsaki,
seven miles south-east of Kara, and the battle was fiercely contested
for some time, but Bahadur Khan's horse reared and threw him and
he was captured. The defeat of the rebels was completed by an attack
of the imperial elephants on Khan Zaman's contingent, and they
fied in confusion, one body of them being put to death by villagers
into whose hands it fell. Khan Zaman was trampled to death in
the elephant charge and his head was severed from his body and
laid before Akbar. Bahadur Khan was taken alive and execute!
on the spot, in spite of the intercession of many of the nobles, and
1 This identifcation is not absolutely certain, but I believe it to be correct.
Abu-'l-Fazl gives the name of the village as Sakraval while Badauni and Nizam-
ud-din Ahmad have Mangarwal. Dr Vincent Smith (Akbar, the Great Mogul,
p. 80, n. 1) identifies it with Mankuwar, “about ten miles south-south-west of
Allahabad”, but this cannot be accepted, for Akbar did not cross the Jamuna
and the battle was certainly fought in the lower Duab, not far from Kara. It
may be admitted that Parsaki does not much resemble either Sakraval or
Mangarwal, but they do not much resemble one another and all agree that the
village received the name of Fathpur. The site of Parsaki exactly fits the des-
cription of the movements of the two forces, and it is the only village in the
neighbourhood bearing the name of Fathpur.


## p. 97 (#129) #############################################

EXPEDITION AGAINST THE RANA OF CHITOR
97
Mirza Mirak Rizavi, who had attached himself to the Uzbegs, was
tortured by means of an elephant for five successive days, but his
life was spared in consideration of his being a Sayyid, and he after-
wards received the command of 900 horse and the title of Rizavi
Khan, and held lucrative appointments.
The final suppression of this rebellion relieved Akbar's mind of a
load of care. For the reasons already given the Uzbegs were com-
pletely alienated from him and irreconcilably disaffected. A party
at court sympathised with them and they apparently never abandoned
the hope of being able one day to overthrow Akbar and to establish
a rúler more in sympathy with them. It is not impossible that Khan
Zaman's descent from Shaiban of the Golden Horde, Khan of the
Kirghiz Steppes, suggested to him his own fitness for empire.
Mun'im Khan received the assignments of the Uzbegs, which he
ill deserved, and Akbar, after witnessing the execution of large
numbers of rebels, returned to Agra on 18 July.
On 31 August Akbar left Agra for Dholpur and Gwalior, having
two objects in view. The first was the suppression of the Mirzas, who
were still in Malwa, where they had occupied some important towns
and districts. He had no intention of compromising his dignity by
marching against them in person but on reaching Gagraun seni
Shihab-ud-din Ahmad Khan against them. They retired without
fighting from Ujjain to Mandu and fled thence to Gujarat, leaving
Shihab-ud-din Ahmad free to restore order in Malwa.
Akbar's second object was the humbling of the pride of the Rana
of Chitor, the acknowledged chief of the great Rajput confederacy.
Bihari Mal of Amber had courted Akbar's favour and by offering
him a daughter had made the most complete surrender possible to
a Rajput. Uday Singh had stood aloof in sullen pride and it was
known that he regarded Bihari Mal as one who had disgraced his
race. Akbar's own pride could not brook this attitude and he resolves
to force the Rana into submission.
While he was at Gagraun, completing his plans for the subjugation
of Uday Singh, Shaikh Faizi the poet, elder brother of Abu-'l-Fazl,
made his first appearance before him, having been summoned to court
owing to rumours of his learning which had reached the emperor.
Having completed his plans Akbar marched for Chitor and arrived,
on 23 October, within sight of the fortress, with his first view of which
he was deeply affected, as all must be who are sensible of the com-
bined effects of nature, art and historical associations.
The fortress stands on a solitary hill three miles and a quarter long
and about 1200 yards wide in the centre, rising to a height of 1889
feet above sea-level, but no more than four or five hundred above
the plain. Chitor presents to the modern eye the appearance of a
vast ironclad in a sea which is represented by the plain from which
the fortified hill rises.
7


## p. 98 (#130) #############################################

98
AKBAR, 1556-1573
1
.
The fortress had already been twice taken and sacked by Muslim
kings-by 'Ala-ud-din Khalji of Delhi in 1303 and by Bahadur Shah
of Gujarat in 1534—but never before had the race of Kusa been
disgraced by an Uday Singh, who, to his eternal shame, abandoned
his capital, leaving its defence to Jai Mal, who had defended Merta
against Sharaf-ud-din Husain, and sought safety at Kumbhalgarh in
the Aravalli hills.
Akbar at once reconnoitred the fortress and assigned to each
division of the army its sector of the lines of investment, so that each
as it came up occupied without confusion the ground assigned to it,
and the investment was complete and all batteries were constructed
within a month of his arrival.
Husain Quli Khan was sent in pursuit of the Rana, and sacked
Udaipur, slaying many of its inhabitants. Many isolated bands
wandering in the hills were destroyed, but he failed to come up with
the object of his search and returned to the imperial camp.
The siege promised to be protracted and laborious. Three batteries
were constructed, the principal one being opposite the Lakhola gate
on the north, on which side mining operations were conducted.
Owing to the difficulty of dragging guns up the hill Akbar caused
to be cast in his presence a large mortar capable of throwing a ball
forty pounds in weight.
The imperial troops having suffered losses at the rate of about
200 daily, in direct assaults, Akbar resolved to rely chiefly upon mines
and upon covered ways for the approaches. On 17 December two
mines were fired, but the storming party rushed into the breach
before the second exploded and lost 200 in killed, 100 of whom were
officers. The garrison had lost no more than forty men and, as they
repaired the breach, mocked the discomfiture of their assailants.
On the night of 23 February, 1568, while a body of the defenders
was making a sortie a leader was observed at a loophole directing the
operation. A marksman stationed in the covered way fired at him
and as he appeared no more it was concluded that the shot had taken
fatal effect. The marksman is said to have been Akbar, with his
favourite musket "Sangram", but the identity of his victim was not
at once discovered. During the night, however, flames broke out at
various places in the fortress, and it was observed that the defences
were deserted. Raja Bhagwan Das informed Akbar that the rite
of jauhar was being performed and when day broke it was discovered
that he was not mistaken. Akbar's victim had been Jai Mal, whose
death had so discouraged the garrison that they resolved to perform
the rite with which the Rajput, despairing of success, ends his life.
One of the principal heroes of the siege was the young Sesodia
Patta Singh of Kailwa, on whom the command devolved. He donned
the yellow robe and with his wife and his mother was overpowered
and slain by the victorious Mughuls.


## p. 99 (#131) #############################################

MASSACRE AT CHITOR
99
The imperial troops entered the fortress immediately after dawn,
and Akbar sullied his success by a ghastly massacre. The 8000
Rajputs who formed the garrison had received much assistance from
the peasants, numbering 40,000, and a general massacre of both was
ordered. Some, indeed, were spared and made prisoners, but the
tale of the slain amounted to 30,000. Akbar's wrath was specially
kindled against the musketeers of Kalpi, 1000 in number, who had
done much execution among his troops, and it would have gone ill
with them had they not escaped by a clever stratagem. Placing their
wives and families in their midst they marched boldly from the
fortress in the light of day, passing themselves off as a body of im-
perial troops escorting prisoners.
The massacre of Chitor, which has made the place unclean and
accursed to its old royal house, has left an indelible blot on Akbar's
name. No such horrors were perpetrated by the brutal 'Ala-ud-din,
and Abu-'l-Fazl is at some pains to excuse the contrast by explaining
that the civil population, which had been most active during Akbar's
siege, had taken no part in the defence in 'Ala-ud-din's siege, but
"the sin of the slaughter of Chitor" will ever sully the memory of
Akbar. His commemoration of the heroism of Jai Mal and Patta by
placing statues of them, mounted on elephants, at the gate of his
imperial palace at Agra was probably intended as a compliment, but
it was open to misconstruction.
On 28 February Asaf Khan was appointed governor of Mewar,
the Rana's state, and Akbar set out on his return to Agra.
While the emperor was engaged in the siege of Chitor Mun'im
Khan paid a visit to Sulaiman Kararani at Patna. Sulaiman was
the younger brother and successor of Taj Khan Kararani, who had
risen to power on the ruins of the Sur dynasty. The results of this
interview were most satisfactory. Some outstanding frontier disputes
were settled and Sulaiman caused the khutba to be recited and money
coined in Akbar's name, but Mun'im Khan ran considerable risk.
Some of the more adventurous spirits among Sulaiman's Afghan
officers were in favour of arresting and detaining the imperial gov-
ernor, but the news of the fall of Chitor brought these short-sighted
politicians to their senses and Mun'im Khan returned in safety to
Jaunpur.
Akbar reached Agra on 13 April, after a pilgrimage to Ajmer, and
sent an expedition to besiege Ranthambhor, which Raja Surjan Rai
held as a vassal of the Rana, but before the force reached its destina-
tion news was received that the Mirzas had invaded Malwa and were
besieging Ujjain. The design of besieging Ranthambhor was there-
fore abandoned for the time and the troops destined thither were
reinforced and ordered to march into Malwa and attack the Mirzas.
The latter, on hearing of their approach, raised the siege of Ujjain
1 The coins are not known with certainty.


## p. 100 (#132) ############################################

100
AKBAR, 1556-1573
and fled towards Mandu, pursued by the forces of the local assignees.
They were unable to make any stand and crossed the Narbada, after
losing many of their followers. Having thus placed themselves beyond
the reach of the imperial troops they heard of the assassination of
Chingiz Khan in Gujarat by Jhajar Khan the African and, foreseeing
rich opportunities in the disturbed condition of that state, returned
thither without delay. Their anticipations were realised and for the
next two years they were fully, and not unprofitably, employed in
Gujarat. The expeditionary force which had been sent against them
returned to Agra, where its leaders were, for a time, under a cloud
on suspicion of their having been lukewarm in the pursuit of the
Nirzas.
“The foster-father cohort" had hitherto all held assignments in
the Punjab under their chief, Khan Kalan, who was governor of the
province. Akbar now decided to transfer them to other places, far
removed from one another. They had bitterly resented the murder
of Atga Khan and had been baulked of their vengeance by Akbar's
decision to proceed against none but the actual murderer, but their
loyalty was above suspicion and there seems to have been no reason
for the measure beyond the observance of the general principles,
sound in such an empire as that of the Mughuls, that nobles who were
nearly related should be distributed in different provinces and that
no great noble should be allowed to retain indefinitely the govern-
ment of one particular province. It was the failure to observe these
principles that eventually led to the dismemberment of the empire.
The family arrived at Agra in September, and after a short stay
received new assignments, far distant from one another. Khan Kalan
was sent to Sambhal, his youngest brother, Qutb-ud-din Muhammad
Khan, to Malwa, and Sharif Khan, the other surviving brother, to
Kanauj. 'Aziz Kuka, the son of Khan Kalan, who bore the title of
Khan A'zam, was permitted to retain his assignment at Dipalpur
in the Punjab. Husain Quli Khan, afterwards entitled Khan Jahan,
was promoted from the minor government of Nagaur to that of the
Punjab, but did not proceed to his new post until Ranthambhor had
fallen, and Shihab-ud-din Ahmad Khan was recalled from Malwa,
where Qutb-ud-din was to relieve him, and was placed in charge
of the crown lands, the management of which was too heavy a burden
for Muzaffar Khan, the revenue minister. He introduced some
reforms in the direction of economy, but was hampered by the
venality of subordinate officials.
Preparations for the reduction of Ranthambhor, which had been
postponed by the activities of the Mirzas in Malwa, were now
resumed, and Akbar, having decided to direct the siege in person,
arrived before the fortress on 8 February, 1569, and at once opened
the siege.
A covered way was constructed and enormous mortars,
similar to that used at Chitor, were dragged up to the eminence
!


## p. 101 (#133) ############################################

CAPTURE OF RANTHAMBHOR AND KALINJAR
101
opposite to the Ran gate, where Akbar's own post was. The artillery
of the fortress did some execution on the besiegers, but Akbar's mortar
battery inflicted terrible damage on the buildings in the fort and
caused much loss of life, and the fortress was surrendered on 18 March,
According to a Rajput legend preserved by Tod, Bhagwan Das
entered the fortress under a safe-conduct to induce Surjan Rai to
surrender and Akbar attended him, disguised as one of his compa-
nions and, having been recognised, conducted the negotiations in
person, granting Surjan Rai concessions and privileges most flattering
to his pride of race.
Dr Vincent Smith is inclined to accept this story, which is men-
tioned by no Muhammadan historian, considering that the Muslim
annals do not sufficiently explain the surrender and are not incon-
sistent with the Hindu story, but the legend must, we think, be dis-
carded. Akbar's visit to Surjan Rai, if it had ever been made, would
have provided a panegyrist with a wonderful opportunity for extolling
his courage, resource, romantic love of adventure and tenderness of
human life, and we cannot conceive Abu-'l-Fazl missing such an
opportunity. On the other hand the surrender is sufficiently explained
by Badauni who, after relating the execution done by Akbar's
mortars, adds, "Rai Surjan, the governor of the fortress, when he
contemplated the insufficiency of the fortress of Chitor and the
misery which fell on its inhabitants, seemed to be contemplating his
own fate, and sent his sons Danda and Bhoj, by the mediation of some
fief-holders [assignees], to wait on the emperor, and begged for
quarter".
Anis-ud-din Mihtar Khan, who had been Humayun's treasurer
during his flight to Persia, was appointed to the command of the
fortress and the government of the district and Akbar left Rantham-
bhor on his annual pilgrimage to Ajmer, returning to Agra on 20 May.
Before the siege began news was received that the Mirzas had
again invaded Malwa from Gujarat, but Akbar did not on this occa-
sion permit their movements to affect his settled plans.
Meanwhile the gradual consolidation of the empire proceeded, and
in August Majnun Khan Qaqshal captured the fortress of Kalinjar,
where Sher Shah had lost his life and where his son Islam Shah
had been enthroned. It was in the possession of Ram Chand, Raja
of Bhath, or Rewah, who, having heard of the fate of Chitor and
Ranthambhor, made no very strenuous resistance. Majnun Khan's
success was rewarded by the inclusion of Kalinjar and the district
of which it was the centre in the government of the lower Duab,
which he already held.
Akbar, though well provided with wives, had no children. Twin
sons who had been born to him had died very shortly after their
birth, and he had long been used to pray at the shrine of Shaikh
Mu'in-ud-din Chishti at Ajmer and at those of saints at Delhi for
1


## p. 102 (#134) ############################################

102
AKBAR, 1556-1573
-
the blessing of a son. There lived at Sikri, 23 miles to the west of
Agra, another Chishti, Shaikh Salim, to whom Akbar had had
recourse, and who had promised him that his prayers would be
answered. Shaikh Salim, though described by Father Monserrate
as "being stained with all the wickedness and disgraceful conduct
of the Muslims"-a phrase of sinister import—had a great reputation
for sanctity among his co-religionists, and when Akbar learnt, early
in 1569, that his earliest Hindu consort, the daughter of Raja Bihari
Mal of Amber, was with child she was sent to the Shaikh's hospice at
Sikri, where, on 30 August, was born the prince who afterwards,
under the title of Jahangir, succeeded his father. He received the
name Salim in honour of the saint. In November a daughter, Khanum
Sultan, known as Shahzada Khanum, was born to Akbar, and on 7
July of the following year Salima Begam gave birth to Sultan Murad.
A third son, Daniyal, was born at Ajmer on 10 September, 1572, in
the house of Shaikh Daniyal, one of the holy men whose prayers
Akbar had sought. Two other children, both daughters, were born
after Daniyal, Shukr-un-Nisa Begam, who was married to Shahrukh
Mirza, her fourth cousin, and Aram Banu Begam.
On 20 January, 1570, Akbar fulfilled a vow made by him on the
occasion of the birth of Salim by performing a pilgrimage on foot
to Ajmer, where he reformed some abuses which had crept into the
administration of the saint's shrine, and returned to Delhi, where
he inspected the splendid tomb of his father. He reached Agra on
2 May.
On 23 September he again set out on his annual pilgrimage to
Ajmer, halting for twelve days at Fathpur Sikri, where he had
resolved to found a city. On reaching Ajmer he improved and
extended the fortifications of the city and had palaces built for him-
self and his leading courtiers, granting to others villages in the Ajmer
district, the revenues of which would enable them to build themselves
houses in the city. He left Ajmer on 3 November and on 5 November
reached Nagaur. Here he cleaned out and repaired one of the three
great reservoirs on which the town had depended for its former
prosperity and constructed a fountain with seventeen jets, which is
still in existence.
At Nagaur he received the submission of Chandra Sen, son of
Maldeo, Raja of Jodhpur, and of Rai Kalyan Mal, Raja of Bikaner,
and his son Rai Singh, and married a relation of Kalyan Mal and
also the daughter of Rawal Har Rai of Jaisalmer, who was conducted
to his camp by Bhagwan Das. Here also he received the tardy sub-
mission of Baz Bahadur, who had abandoned all hope of recovering
his kingdom of Malwa and was fain to accept the nominal command
of 1000 horse in the imperial service.
From Nagaur Akbar made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Shaikh
Farid Shakarganj at Ajudhan, now known as Pak Pattan, amusing


## p. 103 (#135) ############################################

INVASION OF GUJARAT
103
himself on the way by hunting the wild ass in the desert, of which
rare quarry he shot thirteen head.
From Pak Pattan he marched by way of Dipalpur to Lahore, and
returned by way of Hissar to Ajmer, which he reached on 24 July.
On 9 August he reached Fathpur Sikri, where he seriously prosecuted
his design of building a city. His reasons for this step are thus recorded
by Abu-'l-Fazl: "Inasmuch as his exalted sons [Salim and Murad]
had been born at Sikri, and the God-knowing spirit of Shaikh Salim
had taken possession thereof, his holy heart desired to give outward
splendour to this spot which possessed spiritual grandeur. Now that
his standards had arrived at this place his former design was pressed
forward and an order was issued that the superintendents of affairs
should erect lofty buildings for the use of the emperor. "
Akbar had been kept regularly informed of events in Gujarat, the
condition of which kingdom was now deplorable. Its recent history
had been the record of a series of bloody struggles for supremacy
between ambitious and self-seeking nobles, and it was this state of
affairs which had proved so attractive to the Mirzas. Muzaffar III,
the nominal king, whose claim to royal birth was extremely doubt-
ful, was powerless to maintain even a semblance of order and was
never more than a tool in the hands of others.
For the invasion of Gujarat, on which he now decided, Akbar had
a better excuse than for most of his attacks on his neighbours. A civil
war was in progress, and one party, headed by I'timad Khan, invited
his intervention. The country lay on the way to Mecca and all
Muslims were interested in its tranquillity and good government. Its
weakness invited the aggression of the Portuguese both on its coasts
and on pilgrim ships sailing from its ports, and the emperor was
powerless to punish their aggression while the independent king-
doms of Gujarat and the Deccan separated their settlements from
his dominions.
Before leaving Sikri he was obliged to make arrangements for
dealing with a minor rebellion. Jay Chand, Raja of Nagarkot (Kan-
gra), had visited his court, had offended him and had been imprisoned,
and his son Bidai Chand, hearing of his father's imprisonment, con-
cluded that he had been murdered and rebelled at Nagarkot. Husain
Quli Khan, governor of the Punjab, was ordered to capture Nagarkot
and to hand it over, as a fief, to Raja Birbal.
Having sent reinforcements to the Punjab lest Muhammad Hakim
should take advantage of his preoccupation in Gujarat to invade
India, Akbar marched for Ajmer, whence, on 12 August, he sent
forward 10,000 horse under Khan Kalan as an advance guard and
on 1 September followed with the main body of his army. Near Bagor,
1 Dr Vincent Smith (Akbar, p. 110) has “Nagaur", following the printed
text of the Akbar-nama. A glance at the map will show that Nagaur is an
impossible reading. Akbar marching from Ajmer to Gujarat, would not have


## p. 104 (#136) ############################################

AKBAR, 1556-1573
104
where the court halted, he received news of the birth of his son Daniyal
at Ajmer.
At the next stage he was informed of a mishap to Khan Kalan,
who had been stabbed by a treacherous envoy at Sirohi. The wound
was not serious and healed in a fortnight, and the Hindu who inflicted
it was slain. It was probably to avenge his death that a number
of desperate fanatics opposed Akbar when he entered Sirohi with his
army. Eighty of these were slain in a temple and seventy in the
raja's palace.
Rai Singh of Bikaner was sent to Jodhpur to watch the Rana and
keep the road open and Akbar marched to Patan (Anhilwara) send-
ing Raja Man Singh in pursuit of the sons of Sher Khan Fuladi,
who had fled from that town towards Junagarh. He returned with-
out the fugitive, but with much booty taken from them, and on
13 November Akbar left Patan for Ahmadabad, where Sher Khan
Fuladi, who had gained possession of the person of Muzaffar III,
was besieging I'timad Khan. He raised the siege and fled on hearing
of Akbar's approach, and Muzaffar, who had escaped from custody,
was found lurking in a cornfield at Jotana, two stages from Patan,
and on 15 November was brought into Akbar's camp. On the fol-
lowing day I'timad Khan and the leading members of his faction
appeared in the camp and surrendered the keys of Ahmadabad.
Akbar appointed Khan A'zam governor of Gujarat to the north-
west of the river Mahi and wisely confided the government of the
rest of the province, where the Mirzas had established themselves,
to I'timad Khan and his party, who were hostile to the Mirzas.
He arrived at Ahmadabad on 20 November, and the khutba was
recited in his name. He had reason to be satisfied with his conquest.
Ahmadabad was one of the richest and greatest cities in India, and
though it is not necessary to take too literally Abu-'l-Fazl's statement
that it contained 380 quarters, each of which might be deemed a
city, its commercial importance may be estimated from the fact that
it was the emporium of the greater part of the Persian and of a very
large part of the European trade.
At Ahmadabad Akbar discovered that it would be necessary for
him personally to undertake the expulsion of the Mirzas from the
southern provinces of the kingdom, and, leaving Ahmadabad on
8 December he reached Cambay four days later. Here he enjoyed
his first sight of the sea and received the merchants of Turkey, Syria,
Persia, Transoxiana and Portugal. He left Cambay after a week's
halt and arrived on 22 December at Baroda.
been likely to march nearly 80 miles in a north-westerly direction when his
obiective lay directly to the south-west. The correct reading must be Bagor
(25° 22' N. , 74° 23' E. ) which is obtained by changing the pos tion of one dot.
That this is so is proved by the text of the Akbar-nama, where it is stated that
Akbar's next stage was "the neighbourhood of Amet". The distance from Bagor
to Amet is about 28 miles and that from Nagaur to Amet about 140.


## p. 105 (#137) ############################################

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12
li
OPERATIONS AGAINST THE MIRZAS
105
The Mirzas had possessed themselves of the richest districts of
southern Gujarat. Ibrahim Husain Mirza had occupied Baroda,
Muhammad Husain Mirza Surat, and Shah Mirza Champaner. A
large force under Sayyid Mahmud Khan Barha was detached to
reduce Surat, and another, under Shahbaz Khan, to reduce Cham-
paner, but had not reached their destinations when Akbar heard that
Ibrahim Husain Mirza was about to leave Baroda with his troops and
retire to some other district of Gujarat. Akbar resolved to intercept
him and set out at night with a small picked force. After marching
the rest of the night and the whole of the following day he reached
the Mahi river at sunset and discovered that Ibrahim Husain Mirza
was at Sarnal on the opposite bank, with a large force. Those with
him advised postponing the attack until night had fallen but Akbar
at once crossed the river with no more than 200 horse.
Ibrahim Husain marched forth from the town and drew up his
force while Akbar, having crossed the river, entered it by the river
gate, after overcoming some slight resistance. He marched through
the town and his small force deployed as it emerged from the streets.
Ibrahim Husain attacked it and drove in the advance guard, and
Akbar was in a position of great danger. He was attacked by three
horsemen, one of whom was slain by Bhagwan Das while he himself
drove off the other two. His small force then charged the enemy and
Ibrahim Husain turned and fled, followed by Akbar and his men
until darkness ended the pursuit, when the Mirza succeeded in
escaping by way of Ahmadnagar to Sirohi and Patan,
The young Muzaffar Husain Mirza was carried off by his mother
from Surat, on the approach of the imperial forces, to the Deccan,
and the defence of the fort was left to Hamzaban, who had been
page to Humayun, but had thrown in his lot with the Mirzas. Akbar
arrived before Surat on 11 January, 1573, and Hamzaban, after endur-
ing a six weeks' siege, offered to surrender conditionally. Akbar
granted him easy terms and the fortress was surrendered on 26 Feb-
ruary. Hamzaban, "who was a foul-mouthed fellow", must have been
guilty of insolence after the surrender, for his tongue was cut out.
The garrison had invited a force of Portuguese to assist in the
defence of the town, but when they arrived and saw how matters
stood they assumed the character of envoys, and offered gifts to
Akbar, who questioned them about Portugal and the affairs of
Europe. The fulsome Abu-'l-Fazl adds: "Although it is well known
that the holy heart of the Lord of the World is the repository of all
knowledge, bcth spiritual and worldly, his exemplary mind designed
to make these inquiries a means of showing kindness to that crew of
savages. ” This is a fair sample of Abu-'l-Fazl's style. The "crew of
savages" could have told and probably did tell Akbar many things
of which he had never even dreamed. For one think they could tell
him where Portugal was, and the names of the states of Europe.


## p. 106 (#138) ############################################

106
AKBAR, 1556-1573
The emperor, who was still an orthodox Muslim, had an interest
in assuring the safety of the voyage to Mecca and was therefore
dependent on the good will of the Portuguese. He sent an envoy
to the viceroy, Dom Antonio de Noronha, who, after receiving him,
sent back with him Antonio Cabral, who established a friendly
understanding.
Mirza Sharaf-ud-din Husain, one of the members of the conspiracy
which had compassed the death of Atga Khan, had fled from court
in 1562 to his assignment at Nagaur and thence to Gujarat, where
he had joined the Mirzas. After their discomfiture he had gone
towards the Deccan but had been captured by the Raja of Baglan,
who was now called upon to surrender him. He complied and
Akbar's envoys brought the fugitive, on 4 March, to the camp before
Surat. They were accompanied by Raja 'Ali Khan, brother of
Muhammad II of Khandesh, who had been sent to do homage to
Akbar, Sharaf-ud-din Husain was intimidated by being thrown
before the feet of a harmless elephant, and was then imprisoned.
Muhammad Husain Mirza, Shah Mirza and Sher Khan Fuladi now
besieged Sayyid Ahmad Barha in Patan, and Khan A'zam and the
army of Malwa marched to his relief and defeated and dispersed the
besiegers, Sher Khan fleeing to Junagarh and the two Mirzas to
the Deccan.
Ibrahim Husain Mirza, after his escape from the field of Sarnal,
fled first towards Patan and then towards Agra, but Shaham Khan
was ordered to raise the siege of Champaner, which then engaged
him, and intercept the fugitive, and the Mirza directed his flight
towards the Punjab.
Akbar returned to Ahmadabad on 2 April and, having confirmed
Khan A'zam as governor of the new province of the empire, allotted
various grants to the leading officers who had accompanied him, and
appointed Muzaffar Khan Turbati to the government of Malwa in
the place of Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan, who had not shown
sufficient promptitude in obeying his bidding to assist in establishing
peace and order in Gujarat. He left Ahmadabad on 13 April, and
at Sirohi learnt that Husain Quli Khan, governor of the Punjab,
had captured both Ibrahim Husain Mirza and his brother Mas'ud
Husain Mirza. He arrived at Ajmer on 13 May, and, after performing
his usual pilgrimage, continued his journey to Fathpur Sikri, which
he reached on 3 June. Shaikh Mubarak, the father of Faizi and
Abu-'l-Fazl, appeared before him on this occasion and welcomed him
in a speech in which he congratulated him on his victories. In this
speech he expressed the hope that the emperor might become the
spiritual as well as the temporal head of his people. We may be sure
that no such hope would have been expressed unless there had been
some reason for supposing that it would be welcome, and the heterodox
orator, a man who in religion was "everything by turns and nothing
!


## p. 107 (#139) ############################################

11
AKBAR'S RELIGIOUS MISGIVINGS
107
long", had probably heard that Akbar, while besieging Surat, had
listened attentively to the famous mubid of Zoroastrian theologian
Dastur Mahyarji Rana of Navsari. It was not until nine years later
that he promulgated his new religion, the Divine Faith, but he had
always been given to religious discussions and it was certainly in
1573 that he began to feel misgivings as to the sufficiency of orthodox
Islam. Henceforth he sought a more perfect way, but his spiritual
pride misled him.
He was not left in peace to pursue his religious meditations, and
in the course of his busy life he oscillated between various creeds
before he collected his stock-in-trade as a prophet.