Mughal Emperor Sultan Aurangzeb Alamgir : Bad Ruler or Bad History?

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#61 [Permalink] Posted on 27th December 2014 11:08

السلام عليكم

Thirty-Ninth Year of The Reign, 1106 A.H. (1694-5 A.D.).

The Royal Princes.

Prince Muhammad A'zam Sháh had gone to Kharpa (Kaddapa), to punish the rebels and to settle affairs. The insalubrity of the climate affected his health, and dropsy supervened. He returned to Court, and experienced physicians were appointed to attend him.

His illness became so serious that his couch was placed near the chamber of the Emperor, who showed his paternal solicitude by administering his medicine, by partaking of food with him, and doing everything he could to restore him to health. God at length gave him a perfect cure.

Directions were now given for the release of Prince Sháh 'Álam, who had been kept under restraint for seven years. His release [with the provision made for him] was very annoying to Prince Muhammad A'zam and his partisans.

While Prince Sháh 'Álam was in confinement, the Emperor had shown great favour to Prince Muhammad A'zam Sháh, who considered himself to be the heir apparent. But now that the elder Prince was restored to full liberty, and to a greater share of attention than before, Prince Muhammad A'zam was much aggrieved. One day the King took the hand of Prince Sháh 'Álam, and placed him on his right hand.

Then he took the hand of Prince Muhammad A'zam, and made signs for him to sit down on his left. This greatly annoyed Prince Muhammad A'zam, and an open quarrel was imminent. After a time Prince Muhammad Mu'azzam, who had been entitled Sháh 'Álam, was honoured with the title Bahádur Sháh, and was sent to settle the affairs of Ágra, and to punish the rebels in that quarter.

Soon afterwards Prince Muhammad A'zam was ordered with his sons to Kábul, and Prince Mu'izzu-d dín to Multán.

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#62 [Permalink] Posted on 27th December 2014 11:09

Death of Santá Ghorpúra.

The death of Santá at this time was a great piece of good fortune for Aurangzeb. The exact particulars of his death are not known; but I will relate what I have heard from men of credit who were with the army. Ghazíu-d dín Khán Fíroz Jang, who had been sent to chastise Santá and other robbers, was four or five marches from Bíjápúr.

Intelligence was brought that Santá Ghorpúra, with an army of 25,000 horse, was at a distance of eight or nine kos. Fíroz Jang marched towards Bíjápúr, and when he was eight or nine kos distant from the city his scouts brought him word that there was a quarrel between Santá and Dahiná Jádú, both of whom were senápatís, or generals, and they were constantly trying to get the better of each other. Santá was very severe in the punishments he inflicted on his followers.

For a trifling offence he would cast a man under the feet of an elephant. Many of the Mahratta chiefs had ill-blood against him, and they had conspired with Dahiná Jádú, by letters and by messengers, to get rid of him. Hanumant Ráí, a sardár of distinction, at the instigation of Dahiná Jádú, made an attack in concert with Jádú's army upon Santá.

Dahiná had also won over the great officers who were in company with Santá. They plundered Santá's baggage, and several of the principal ráwats of his army went over to Hanumant. Many of his men were killed and wounded, and he himself, being deprived of his power, fled to the hills and his own máwals.

On receipt of orders from Aurangzeb, Fíroz Jang went in pursuit of Santá. Dahiná Jádú's army pursued him on the other side. Santá's forces were entirely separated from him and dispersed. Nágojí Manai, a Mahratta sardár, had served for some time in the Imperial army, but subsequently joined his own people. This part of the country was his native land. Several years before, Santá had thrown a brother of Nágojí under the feet of an elephant, and this had produced a mortal hatred.

Under the guidance of his wife, he led a party in pursuit of Santá. He reached a place where Santá, worn and weary, and without attendants, was bathing in a stream. He approached him suddenly, and killed him unawares. He then cut off his head, and, placing it in a bag, fastened it behind him on his horse, and carried it off to Dahiná Jádú. On the road the bag fell off, and was picked up by some runners and horsemen belonging to the army of Fíroz Jang, who were in pursuit of Santá.

The head was recognized, and was carried to Lutfu-llah Khán, commander of Fíroz Jang's advanced guard. It was finally sent to Aurangzeb, who gave the bearer of it the title of Khush-khabar Khán. The drums of joy were beaten, and the head was ordered to be exposed with ignominy before the army and in several places of the Dakhin.

'Abdu-r Razzák Lárí.

'Abdu-r Razzák Lárí, from the day of entering the royal service, had sought for an excuse for going to his native country. He was now deprived of the faujdárí of Ráhírí, and summoned to Court. He did not go, but wrote desiring to be relieved from his mansab, and to be allowed to go to Mecca.

The leave was given, but every means was taken to satisfy him, and to avert him from his design. But he would not consent, so he received written leave to depart with his family and property, and with marks of favour. His three sons did not accompany him, but remained at Court.

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#63 [Permalink] Posted on 27th December 2014 11:12

Fortieth Year of The Reign, 1107 A.H. (1695-6 A.D.).

Rám Rája. Prince Akbar. Flood.

Rám Rája, brother of Sambhá, having left the fort of Ját, in the district of Rájgarh, went to Jinjí and other strong places. He then proceeded to the fort of Sattára, where he remained seven months. When he was informed of the murder of Santá, he sent for Dahiná Jádú, to consult with him about getting together an army, and recommencing the war.

Prince Muhammad Akbar, after the accession of Sultán Husain to the throne of Persia, repeatedly asked for the help of an army to reinstate him in Hindústán. The new Sháh, like his predecessor, excused himself. The Prince then complained that the climate of Isfahán did not agree with him, and asked permission to reside for a while in Garmsír. The request was granted, and assignments were made of the revenues of that province for his support. So the Prince proceeded thither, with an appointed escort of 10,000 kazilbáshes.

In the month of Muharram of this year the river Bhanra, near which the royal camp was pitched, rose to a great height, and overflowed, causing enormous destruction. The amírs had built many houses there. The waters began to overflow at midnight, when all the world was asleep.

The floods carried off about ten or twelve thousand men, with the establishments of the King, and the princes and the amírs, horses, bullocks and cattle in countless numbers, tents and furniture beyond all count. Numberless houses were destroyed, and some were so completely carried away that not a trace of them was left. Great fear fell on all the army. The King wrote out prayers with his own hand, and ordered them to be thrown into the water, for the purpose of causing it to subside.

contd later إن شاء الله ..

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#64 [Permalink] Posted on 11th March 2015 20:27

السلام عليكم

FORTY-FIRST YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1108 A.H. (1696-7 A.D.).

[Attempt to murder Sídí Yákút Khán of Jazíra.]

FORTY-SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1109 A.H. (1697-8 A.D.).

The Mahrattas.

Níbá Sindhiá and other officers of Rám Rája, with an army of eight thousand horse, came to the district of Nandurbár, and attacked and burnt several villages. When he heard that Husain 'Alí Khán was approaching from Thálír, he suspended his operations against Nandurbár, and went to meet him.

Husain Khán had only seven or eight hundred horse and two or three thousand provincial musketeers and archers; but he went forth to meet the enemy. They encountered each other at two kos from the town of Thálír, and a fierce action ensued. The number of Sindhiá's forces enabled him to surround Husain 'Alí Khán, about three hundred of whose men were killed.

The day went against Husain 'Alí, and he had received two or three wounds. Dripping with blood, he threw himself from his elephant; but he had no strength left for fighting, so he was surrounded and made prisoner. All his baggage, his men, and elephants were captured.

In addition to the cash and property which they had got by plunder, the enemy fixed two lacs of rupees as the price of the ransom of the prisoners. After much exertion, nearly one lac and 80,000 rupees was raised from the jágírs, and from the property which had been left in the town of Thálír. To make up the balance, the sarráfs and merchants of Nandurbár were importuned to raise a sum, small or great, by way of loan. But they would not consent.

The inhabitants of the town of Nandurbár had not paid the chauth to the Mahrattas, and being supported by the faujdár, they had closed their gates, which greatly annoyed the enemy (Mahrattas). Husain 'Alí Khán also was greatly incensed by their refusal to assist him; so he took counsel with the enemy, and agreed that after a siege of a day or two, and some exhibition of force, he would open the gates to them.

He made it a condition that the raiyats should not be plundered, but that the great and wealthy men, the sarráfs, the merchants, and the mukaddams, might be put to the rack and tortured until the balance of the ransom due to the Mahrattas was discharged.

The result was that a sum of one lac and forty thousand rupees was paid to the Mahrattas instead of eighty thousand, and that Husain 'Alí Khán himself realized nearly thirty thousand rupees. When (the result of the action) was reported to Aurangzeb, he was very angry, and said that there was no use in fighting when too weak to win.

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#65 [Permalink] Posted on 11th March 2015 20:29

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

FORTY-THIRD YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1110 A.H. (1698-9 A.D.).

Campaign against the Mahrattas. Siege of Sattára.

The daring inroads of the Mahrattas brought Aurangzeb to the resolution of waging a holy war against them, and of reducing the fortresses which were their homes and defences. His camp had now remained at Islámpúrí four years, and fine mansions and houses had been built there, so that a new city had sprung up, and men thought they would never move far away.

Orders were given for throwing up earthworks round the place, and the officers and men worked so well that in fifteen or twenty days a defence was raised which might have occupied six or seven months. The Nawáb Kudsíya Zínatu-n Nissa, sister of Prince Muhammad A'zam Sháh, and mother of Muhammad Kám Bakhsh, with other ladies of the royal household, were left there under the charge of Jamdatu-l Mulk Asad Khán. Orders were also given that all amírs and officers should leave their wives and families and property behind.

The people belonging to the royal establishments were also to remain. Strict orders were also given that no ahadí should take his wife or children with him. Great stress was laid upon this order, but in the marches and campaigns of Hindústán such orders could not be enforced without resorting to such punishments as the Princes of the House of Tímúr held to be inconsistent with their sense of justice. So the order was not obeyed as it ought to have been.

On the 5th Jumáda-l awwal the army marched towards the fort of Basant-garh, and in twenty days it arrived at Murtaza-ábád, or Mirich. There Prince Muhammad A'zam Sháh came, in obedience to summons, from Bír-gánw.

Rám Rája, brother of the deceased Sambhá, had, under the pressure of the royal armies, abandoned his fortresses and fled, taking refuge in the hills and places of difficult access. When he heard of the royal design upon the fortresses, he went off towards Birár, ravaging the towns and inhabited places. The Zamíndár of Deogarh, in consequence of disturbances in his country, and the superior force of those who disputed the inheritance, had fled to the Court of Aurangzeb, and had received the title of Buland-bakht upon his becoming a Musulmán.

Upon hearing of the death of his competitor, he hastened back to Deogarh without leave, and opposed the officers who were appointed to collect the tribute. He now joined Rám Rája in plundering the country. His Majesty ordered that his name should be changed to Nigún-bakht, and that Prince Bedár Bakht should march against him with a suitable force. Rúhu-llah Khán Bakhshí, with Hámidu-d dín Khán, were sent to plunder the environs of the forts of Parnála and Sattára.

When the royal army came near to Basant-garh, Tarbiyat Khán, the commander of artillery, was ordered to take steps for investing the place and throwing up lines. The word was given for an assault, but the besieged were frightened and surrendered. Aurangzeb gave to the place the name Kilíd-i futúh, Key of Victory.

At the end of Jumáda-s sání the royal army arrived opposite Sattára, and the camp was pitched at the distance of a kos and a half. Prince Muhammad A'zam Sháh encamped on another side, and the amírs and officers were posted according to the judgment of Tarbiyat Khán. They all vied with each other in throwing up lines, digging mines, and in carrying on other siege operations.

On both sides a heavy fire was kept up, and the garrison rolled down great stones, which came bounding down and crushed many men and animals. The rain obstructed the arrival of corn; the enemy were very daring in attacking the convoys, and the country for twenty kos round the fortress had been burnt, so that grain and hay became very scarce and dear. A battery twenty-four yards (dar'a) high was thrown up in face of the hill, and on the Prince's side also the batteries were carried to the foot of the hill.

A hundred and sixty thousand rupees were paid for the services of the troops and máwalís of that country, who are very efficient in sieges. Matters went hard with the garrison, and the chance of firing a gun or a musket was no longer in their power; all they could do was to roll down stones from the walls.

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#66 [Permalink] Posted on 11th March 2015 20:32

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

Continued from above..

Stone-masons were employed by the besiegers to cut two vaults in the side of the rock four yards long and ten yards broad, which were to be used as stations for sentinels. But when they were found not to answer for this purpose, they were filled with powder. On the morning of the 5th Zí-l ka'da, in the fourth month of the siege, one of these was fired. The rock and the wall above it were blown into the air and fell inside the fortress.

Many of the garrison were blown up and burnt. The besiegers, on beholding this, pushed boldly forwards. At that time the second mine was fired. A portion of the rock above was blown up, but instead of falling into the fortress, as was expected, it came down upon the heads of the besiegers like a mountain of destruction, and several thousands were buried under it. The garrison then set about repairing the walls, and they again opened fire and rolled down the life-destroying stones.

When Aurangzeb was informed of the disaster, and of the despondency of his men, he mounted his horse, and went to the scene of action as if in search of death. He gave orders that the bodies of the dead should be piled upon each other, and made to serve as shields against the arrows of calamity; then with the ladder of resolution, and the scaling-ropes of boldness, the men should rush to the assault. When he perceived that his words made no impression on the men, he was desirous to lead the way himself, accompanied by Muhammad A'zam Sháh.

But the nobles objected to this rash proposition. Afterwards he addressed his soldiers in encouraging words [and gave fresh orders for the conduct of the siege].

An extraordinary incident now occurred. A great number of Hindú infantry soldiers had been killed all at once (in the explosion), and their friends were unable to seek and bring out their bodies. The violence of the shock had entirely disfigured them, and it was not possible to distinguish between Musulmán and Hindú, friend and stranger.

The flames of animosity burst forth among all the gunners against the commander of the artillery. So at night they secretly set fire to the defences (marhala), which had been raised at great trouble and expense against the fire from above, in the hope and with the design that the fire might reach the corpses of the slaughtered Hindús. A great conflagration followed, and for the space of a week served as a bright lamp both for besiegers and besieged. A number of Hindús and Musulmáns who were alive in the huts were unable to escape, and were burnt, the living with the dead.

Death of Rám Rája.

The news-writers now reported that Rám Rája, after meeting with some reverses in his raid upon Birár, was returning to the hills of his own territory. On his way he died, leaving three sons of tender years, and two wives. Soon afterwards it was announced that the eldest son, a boy of five years of age, had died of small-pox. The chiefs then made Tárá Báí, the chief wife, and mother of one son, regent. She was a clever intelligent woman, and had obtained a reputation during her husband's lifetime for her knowledge of civil and military matters. Tárá Báí proceeded to the hills of difficult approach.

On receiving this intelligence, the Emperor ordered the drums of rejoicing to be beaten, and the soldiers congratulated each other, saying that another prime mover in the strife was removed, and that it would not be difficult to overcome two young children and a helpless woman. They thought their enemy weak, contemptible and helpless; but Tárá Báí, as the wife of Rám Rája was called, showed great powers of command and government, and from day to day the war spread and the power of the Mahrattas increased.

contd later إن شاء الله

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#67 [Permalink] Posted on 30th April 2015 09:37

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

contd..

Surrender of Sattára and Capture of Parlí.

At the death of Rám Rája, a chief named Parsa Rám was in the fort of Parlí, acting in that country as díwán in revenue matters for Rám Rája. On hearing of his decease, without consulting with the commandant of the fort, he came and made his submission to Aurangzeb.

The commandant also, being dismayed, sent a proposal of surrender upon terms. At the same time Sobhán, the commander of Sattára, was troubled by the blowing up of the wall on one side of the fortress and the burning of a great number of his men.

The death of Rám Rája added to his perplexity. He was at feud with the commandant of fort Parlí, and he sent a message to Aurangzeb, through Prince Muhammad A'zam, offering to capitulate on honourable terms, if the proposal of the commandant of Parlí were rejected. He was willing to give up the keys of Sattára at once, and would undertake to place Parlí in Aurangzeb's hands unconditionally in a short time, without any promise of security.

On the 16th Zí-l ka'da he surrendered the keys, and more than three thousand persons, male and female, came out of the fort upon promise of safety. Great rejoicings followed. Sobhán was brought, bound hand and neck, to the foot of the throne; but orders were given for the forgiveness of his offences, and for loosening his bonds. He was appointed to a mansab of five thousand and two thousand horse, and a horse, an elephant, etc., were presented to him.

After the surrender of Sattára, Aurangzeb marched against Parlí, the commandant of that fort having been diverted by his advisers from his intention of surrendering. Parlí is a more lofty fort than Sattára, and it had been put into a state of preparation. On the 10th Zí-l hijja many men were killed in an attempted assault, but in a short time the garrison was pressed very hard.

The besiegers were greatly incommoded by the heavy rain, which in this part of the country falls for five months without an hour's interval by night or day, and by lack of supplies, the convoys being cut off by the enemy who swarmed around. The garrison showed great daring in coming suddenly down the hill and attacking the besiegers; but the repeated attacks and the daring of Fathu-llah Khán at length prevailed, and a proposition of capitulation was made.

At the beginning of Muharram, after a siege of a month and a half, the fortress was taken, and the men of the garrison marched out with their families and their old clothes. The name of Sattára was changed to A'zam-tárá, and of Parlí to Nauras-tárá.

Aurangzeb then determined to return, but there was little means of carriage, for the rains and the bad climate had affected the animals, so that those that were alive were nothing but skin and bone. Some of the baggage and matériel was carried away, some was left in the forts, and some was burnt. On reaching the river Kistná, there was great difficulty in crossing it. Some men attempted to swim over, but nine out of ten were drowned, and thousands remained behind and died.

In the middle of Safar the army reached an obscure fort, which offered sufficient protection for a few days, and an order was issued for a month's rest there. The rains, which had continued so far, now ceased, and the men of the army found a little comfort.

Some proceedings of Prince Muhammad A'zam were displeasing to His Majesty, and his division of the army was in a bad state; so that, although he had shown great diligence and enterprise in the reduction of the fort of Parnála and other forts, he was sent, in order to appease the troops, to be Governor of the province of Ujjain. In the same way, several officers of the army were sent to their jágírs at ten or twelve days' distance, to Bíjápúr, and to other places in the vicinity. Prince Bedár Bakht was directed to lay siege to the fort of Parnála, and Zú-l fikár Khán and Tarbiyat Khán received orders to follow him with the artillery.

As many men had been lost in the reduction of the fortresses, strict orders were sent to the Súbadárs of Burhánpúr, Bíjápúr, Haidarábád, Ahmadábád, and other provinces far and near, to raise (each) a thousand men, well horsed, to advance them six months' pay out of the State revenues, and to send them to the royal camp. Aurangzeb, with the intention of giving his men rest, went to Khawáspúr, a place well supplied with grass and hay, and fruit-trees and water.

At the end of Rabí'u-l awwal the royal camp was pitched at that place, and the abundance of provisions soon restored the spirits of the army. But here also the army was to suffer hardship. The camp was pitched by the side of a nála containing only a little water, and, as the rainy season was over, there was no expectation of a heavy fall of rain. But rain which fell out of season in the hills and distant places sent down a flood of water, which inundated the camp, causing confusion and distress which defy description.

The fort of Parnála had been (formerly) taken by Prince Muhammad A'zam, and had remained for some time in the royal possession. But in the thirty-fifth year of the reign the enemy regained possession of it. On the 10th Shawwál the (royal) army reached Pún-garh, a fort connected with Parnála.

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#68 [Permalink] Posted on 30th April 2015 09:40

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

FORTY-FOURTH YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1111 A.H. (1699-1700 A.D.).

[Siege of Parnála.]

FORTY-FIFTH YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1112 A.H. (1700-1 A.D.)

.

Sieges of Forts.

The siege (of Parnála) had endured for two months, and repeated attempts had been made to carry the place by escalade. At length, when the garrison was hard pressed, the commandant surrendered the fort, having secretly received a sum of money from Prince Muhammad Kám Bakhsh and Tarbiyat Khán, with whom he had been in correspondence. At the end of Zí-l hijja the keys were given up, and both the forts were evacuated.

The army was about to march, when a violent storm came on [and did great damage]. In the beginning of Muharram, 1113, it was determined to march towards Kaháwan, where there was plenty of grass and grain. Fathu-llah Khán was sent with a force to chastise the plundering Mahrattas, and to subdue their forts. He killed many of the enemy near the four forts in that neighbourhood, and, on hearing of his approach, the enemy abandoned the fort of Páras-garh. Bahramand Khán was sent along with Fathu-llah Khán against the fort of Chandan-mandan, and by the middle of Jumáda-l awwal all the four forts were subdued.

On the 16th Jumáda-l ákhir the royal army moved from Pánch-gánw, to effect the conquest of the fort of Khelna. The difficulties of the road were great. Ambá-ghát, at a distance of two days' march, took twelve days to reach. Prince Bedár Bakht was ordered to fall back on Baní Sháh Darak (as Parnála was now called), to punish the enemy, who were closing the roads in that direction, and to prevent any supplies being thrown into Khelna from that quarter.

Muhammad Amín Khán was likewise ordered to the Ambá-ghát, to cut off any supplies intended for the fort, and to succour the convoys of Banjáras bearing grain for the royal army. He showed no lack of zeal in these duties; and was so active in ravaging and burning the inhabited places, in killing and making prisoners the people, and in seizing and carrying off the cattle, that any sign of cultivation, or the name or trace of a Mahratta, was not to be found.

The siege works were pushed on until a mine was carried near to the gate. In the raising of the earthworks, camel saddles and baskets innumerable were used, full of earth and rubbish and litter, heads of men and feet of quadrupeds; and these were advanced so far that the garrison were intimidated.

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#69 [Permalink] Posted on 30th April 2015 09:41

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

FORTY-SIXTH YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1113 A.H. (1701-2 A.D.).

Fathu-llah Khán Bahádur showed extraordinary zeal and bravery in pushing forward the siege works (of Khelna), and never rested from his labours. Paras Rám, the commandant of the fort, being much discouraged, held communications with Prince Bedár Bakht as to his personal safety, and the acceptance of his proposals.

But his demands were not acceded to. Rúhu-llah Khán, etc., went several times into the fort to arrange terms, but without result. At length, according to common rumour, the Prince and some of the amírs sent him secretly a sum of money, and a promise of security for himself and family, on condition of his surrendering. So, after six months' siege, on the 19th Muharram, 1113 (16 June, 1701), the flags of the Prince and of Rúhu-llah Khán were hoisted over the fortress by Paras Rám, the commandant, himself, who had stipulated that no man of the royal army should go in with the flag.

He solicited a night's grace, and through shame he and his family went out during the darkness of the night, with all the property they could carry. A large number of the garrison remained in the fort, but the Emperor in his mercy ordered that no one of them should be molested; so they came out and departed to their native wilds. The name of the fort was altered to Sakhkharalaná.

The clemency and long suffering and care of the Emperor were such that, when he ascertained that several fortresses had been long and vigorously besieged by the forces appointed to the duty, and that the garrisons were in difficulty, he paid sums of money to the commandants, and so got the forts into his possession. It often happened also that he gave the same sum of money, neither more nor less, to the officer conducting the siege.

The heavy rains, and the overflow of the rivers and streams, had induced Aurangzeb to defer his march until the end of the rainy season. But he was moved by the irresolution and the advice of some of his amírs, who pined for ease, and complained of the dearness of grain and the insalubrity of the climate, and by the grumbling of the inexperienced and hard-tried soldiers. So at the end of Muharram he marched for Bír-gánw. [Great difficulties, dangers and losses from rains and floods.]

In the course of one month and seventeen days the fourteen kos between the forts of Khelna and Parnála were traversed, and on the 12th Rabí'u-l awwal the camp was pitched under the latter. [Further hardships of the march and great difficulty in crossing the Kistná.] Seventeen days were occupied in the transit of the river, but Bahádur-gárh was at length reached, and there the army halted for a month. At the end of Rajab, though only half a life remained in the bodies of the men, the army marched to effect the conquest of Kandána. On the 16th it reached that fortress [and the siege was at once begun].

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#70 [Permalink] Posted on 30th April 2015 09:42

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

FORTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1114 A.H. (1702-3 A.D.).

The Mahrattas.

After the siege (of Kandána) had gone on for three months and a half, and many men had been killed, and the directors of the siege were in difficulty, the fort was bought from the commandant for a sum of money. The army then marched and remained for a month at Púna, and the neighbouring villages. In the middle of Rajab the army marched against Rájgarh, the earliest fortress and retreat of the restless infidels of this country.

At the beginning of Sha'bán the army sat down before the fort. The circuit of the fort was so great, twelve kos in measurement, that a complete investment sufficient to prevent the throwing in of supplies was impossible. On the 15th Shawwál the royal flag was planted on the first gate of the fortress, and many of the garrison were slain or put to flight. But Hainájí, the commander, kept up an ineffectual resistance for twelve days longer, when he asked for terms. They were conceded on condition that the commander himself should come to the first gate, carry the royal flag into the fortress, and evacuate the place on the next day. Next day the garrison marched out with their families, and all the property they could carry. The fort received the name of Baní-Sháh-garh.

When Rám Rája died, leaving only widows and infants, men thought that the power of the Mahrattas over the Dakhin was at an end. But Tárá Báí, the elder wife, made her son of three years old successor to his father, and took the reins of government into her own hands. She took vigorous measures for ravaging the Imperial territory, and sent armies to plunder the six súbas of the Dakhin as far as Sironj, Mandisor, and the súba of Málwá.

She won the hearts of her officers, and for all the struggles and schemes, the campaigns and sieges of Aurangzeb up to the end of his reign, the power of the Mahrattas increased day by day. By hard fighting, by the expenditure of the vast treasures accumulated by Sháh Jahán, and by the sacrifice of many thousands of men, he had penetrated into their wretched country, had subdued their lofty forts, and had driven them from house and home; still the daring of the Mahrattas increased, and they penetrated into the old territories of the Imperial throne, plundering and destroying wherever they went.

In imitation of the Emperor, who with his army and enterprising amírs was staying in those distant mountains, the commanders of Tárá Báí cast the anchor of permanence wherever they penetrated, and having appointed kamáísh-dárs (revenue collectors), they passed the years and months to their satisfaction, with their wives and children, tents and elephants.

Their daring went beyond all bounds. They divided all the districts (parganas) among themselves, and following the practice of the Imperial rule, they appointed their súbadárs (provincial governors), kamáísh-dárs (revenue collectors), and ráhdárs (toll-collectors).

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#71 [Permalink] Posted on 30th April 2015 09:46

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Their principal súbadár is commander of the army. Whenever he hears of a large caravan, he takes six or seven thousand horse and goes to plunder it. He appoints kamáísh-dárs everywhere to collect the chauth, and whenever, from the resistance of the zamíndárs and faujdárs, the kamáísh-dár is unable to levy the chauth, he hastens to support him, and besieges and destroys his towns.

And the ráhdár of these evil-doers takes from small parties of merchants, who are anxious to obtain security from plunder, a toll upon every cart and bullock, three or four times greater than the amount imposed by the faujdárs of the government. This excess he shares with the corrupt jágírdárs and faujdárs, and then leaves the road open. In every súba (province) he builds one or two forts, which he makes his strongholds, and ravages the country round.

The mukaddams, or head men of the villages, with the countenance and co-operation of the infidel súbadárs, have built forts, and with the aid and assistance of the Mahrattas they make terms with the royal officers as to the payment of their revenues. They attack and destroy the country as far as the borders of Ahmadábád and the districts of Málwá, and spread their devastations through the provinces of the Dakhin to the environs of Ujjain.

They fall upon and plunder large caravans within ten or twelve kos of the Imperial camp, and have even had the hardihood to attack the royal treasure. It would be a troublesome and useless task to commit to writing all their misdeeds; but it must suffice to record some few of the events which occurred in those days of sieges, which, after all, had no effect in suppressing the daring of the Mahrattas.

A force of the enemy, numbering fifteen or sixteen thousand horse, proceeded towards the port of Surat, and, after ravaging several districts, they went to cross the Nerbadda, which runs between Ahmadábád and Surat. The Imperial officers in charge of Ahmadábád took counsel together, and sent a suitable force against them, under Muhammad Beg Khán, and ten or twelve sardárs, with thirteen or fourteen thousand horse, and seven or eight thousand trained kolís of that country.

They crossed the Nerbadda, and encamped upon its bank. Next morning the Mahratta army approached within seven or eight kos. Two or three well-mounted light horsemen appeared on one side, and the Ahmadábád army made ready to receive them. After a conflict, the infidels took flight, and were pursued by the Imperial officers for two or three kos, who captured several mares, spears, and umbrellas, and returned rejoicing.

The men of the army, delighted at having put the enemy to flight, had ungirded themselves and taken the saddles from their horses. Some went to sleep, and some were engaged in cooking or eating, when a picked force of seven or eight thousand of the enemy's horse came suddenly upon them like a flood. These men had been concealed among the trees and rocks near the river, and had sent out their spies to watch for an opportunity. The untried men of Ahmadábád lost their wits, and found no means of saddling their horses or girding on their arms.

They had no experienced officers among them, and when the Dakhinís made their attack, a panic fell upon the army. On one side was the river, which the tide from the sea made unfordable, and on the other the advancing tide of the enemy. Many men were killed and wounded, and a great many threw themselves into the water, and were drowned. The enemy effected a complete overthrow of the Imperial army.

Dahiná Jádú, according to the general report of the sardárs, was a man of the highest influence. He now proposed terms of peace. His proposal was that conciliatory letters should be addressed to all the principal officers of the Rání, inviting them to wait upon Aurangzeb. When they had arrived in the vicinity of the royal camp, Rája Sáhú (son of Sambhájí) was to be placed in charge of Prince Muhammad Kám Bakhsh, and to be sent some four or five kos from the camp, so that the Mahratta sardárs might have an interview with him first.

With the approval of Rája Sáhú, the chiefs were then to pay their respects to Prince Kám Bakhsh, and to return in his custody to the royal camp, where they were to receive the honour of admission into the royal service. Orders were accordingly given for the sending nearly seventy letters to various Mahratta chiefs. But, after all, the plan did not please Aurangzeb, who prudently felt misgivings as to the craftiness of the Mahrattas, and was apprehensive that if they assembled forty or fifty thousand horse near the royal camp, they might by this pretence carry off Rája Sáhú and Prince Kám Bakhsh to their hills of difficult access.

Sultán Husain was summoned to Court; but his visit was countermanded, and he was ordered to go and lay siege to the fort of Torna.

contd later إن شاء الله

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#72 [Permalink] Posted on 14th December 2015 18:20

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

FORTY-EIGHTH YEAR OF THE REIGN, 1115 A.H. (1703-4 A.D.).

After the reduction of the fort of Rájgarh, the royal army rested for a few days, and at the end of Shawwál it moved to the fort of Torna, four kos distant from Rájgarh. On the 13th Zí-l ka'da this fort was taken by assault, not like the other forts by negociations with the commandants and promises of material advancement.

Siege of Wákinkera.

Pem Náík, a zamíndár of low origin, belonging to the tribe of Bedar, which is the Hindí for “fearless,” sprang from the caste of Dhers, the most impure caste of the Dakhin. He was noted for his turbulent habits. At the time of the war with Haidarábád, he sent his forces to the aid of Abú-l Hasan, and Pádsháh Khánzáda Khán, son of Rúhu-llah Khán, was sent to subdue his fort of Sagar, and to occupy his fastnesses and retreats. He submitted to the royal army, and came to wait on the Emperor, but soon hastened back to his home.

Pem Náík had a nephew named Paryá Náík. In the thirty-second year of the reign, when Rúhu-llah Khán senior was sent to reduce Ráíchor, and when the royal court was at Ahmadábád, before the Bíjápúr affair, this Paryá Náík, having seen the great power of Aurangzeb, came to his Court, and received a mansab. Rúhu-llah thought he might be of service at Ráíchor, and took him there.

There the good-for-nothing knave took part in the fighting, and rendered good service. After the reduction of Ráíchor, he asked leave to go to Wákinkera, his ancestral abode, promising to levy all his powers there, and to present himself with a proper army wherever he was summoned.

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#73 [Permalink] Posted on 14th December 2015 18:21

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

Upon receiving permission, he went to Wákinkera, which is a village on the top of a hill, and one of the dependencies of Sagar. The place is inhabited by many Barkandázes, which name signifies “black-faced infantry,” and these people are famed for their skill in archery and missiles. After Sagar had been taken from the hands of Pem Náík, the worthless Paryá Náík, by craft and wiles, made it the abode of his family and children.

Having taken up his residence at Wákin-kera, he showed no signs of moving, but set about strengthening and adding to the defences, and laying in warlike stores. Favoured by fortune, he in time collected nearly fourteen or fifteen thousand infantry of vigour and audacity.

He made his hill a strong fortress, and, collecting in a short time four or five thousand horse, he ravaged flourishing places far and near, and plundered caravans. Whenever an army was sent against him, the strong force which he had collected around him, the strength of his retreat, the influence of money spent in bribery, a practice which he well understood, his knowledge of darbár proceedings, and his own audacity, carried him through; and bags of money and a variety of presents covered all discrepancies in his statements.

In his letters he made all sorts of artful excuses, and represented himself as one of the most obedient of zamíndárs and punctual of revenue-payers. Every month and year he exerted himself in increasing his buildings, strengthening his towers and walls, in gathering forces, and acquiring guns, great and small. At last his place became well known as the fort of Wákinkera, and he became a fast ally of the Mahrattas, the disturbers of the Dakhin.

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#74 [Permalink] Posted on 14th December 2015 18:22

بسم الله الرحمن اللرحيم

Jagná, son of Pem Náík, who was the heir to his property, came to Court, was honoured with a mansab, and received a sanad for the zamíndárí as its rightful heir. He went thither with an army, but could not get in, and after some fighting he suffered a defeat. Prince Muhammad A'zam was afterwards sent to punish Paryá Náík, and the royal forces ravaged the outskirts of his territory. But he seized his opportunity, and went to wait upon the Prince.

He expressed his humility and repentance, and with subtle artifice promised a tribute of seven lacs of rupees to the Emperor, and to make a present of two lacs to the Prince. Besides these, he dispensed gratifications to the officials. By these means he rescued himself from the clutches of the royal anger.

As soon as the Prince had returned to Court, he went on in his old way, and fanned the fires of rebellion more violently than before. Fíroz Jang was afterwards sent with a large army to repress him, and pressed him very hard. But he resumed his old artifices, sent deceptive and alluring messages, and by a promise of obedience and nine lacs of rupees as tribute, he saved his life and honour.

When the royal army marched against Púna, and lay encamped for seven months and a half near Junír, two or three unimportant forts were taken. Every day fresh news was brought of the insolence and turbulence of Paryá Náík, and in consequence Aurangzeb resolved to march in person against Wákinkera.

contd later إن شاء الله

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