The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Volume 1 of 2

Feast of the Second New Year.

Alexander Rogers translation

In the second place it became known that the governor of Farāh and a number of the officers of that neighbourhood had taken it into their heads, after the death of the late king, that in this confusion Qandahar might easily fall into their hands, and without waiting for an order from S͟hāh ʿAbbās had collected together and won over the Chief of Sewistān (Sīstān). Sending someone to Ḥusain K͟hān, the governor of Herat they asked for support from him. He also sent a force. After that they turned to attack Qandahar. S͟hāh Beg K͟hān, the governor of that place, seeing that battle has two heads, and that if (which God forbid!) he should be defeated he would lose possession of Qandahar, thought that to confine himself in a fort would be better than to fight. He therefore determined to hold the fort, and sent quick messengers to the Court. It happened that at this time the royal standards had started from Agra in pursuit of K͟husrau, and had arrived at Lahore. Immediately on hearing this news (from S͟hāh Beg K͟hān), a large force was sent off of amirs and mansabdars under Mīrzā G͟hāzī. Before the Mīrzā reached Qandahar the news had been carried to the S͟hāh (of Persia) that the governor of Farāh, with some of the jagirdars of that neighbourhood, had proceeded towards the province of Qandahar. Considering this an improper proceeding, he sent Ḥusain Beg, a well-known man and one of his own intimates to make enquiries. He also sent a farman in their names that they should move away from the vicinity of Qandahar and go to their own places and abodes, because the friendship and amity of his ancestors with the dignified family of Jahāngīr Pāds͟hāh were of old standing. That body, before the arrival of Ḥusain Beg and the King’s order, not being able to oppose the royal army, considered the opportunity of returning a favourable one. The said Ḥusain Beg censured the men and started off to wait on me, which he had the honour to do at Lahore. He explained that the ill-fated army which had attacked Qandahar had acted without the order of S͟hāh ʿAbbās. God forbid (he said) that in consequence of this any unpleasantness should remain in my mind. In short, after the victorious troops reached Qandahar, they, according to orders, delivered the fort over to Sardār K͟hān, and S͟hāh Beg K͟hān returned to Court with the relieving force.

On the 27th Ẕī-l-qaʿda, ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān, having brought Rām Chand Bandīlah into captivity and chains, brought him before me. I ordered them to take the fetters from his legs, and bestowed on him a robe of honour, and handed him over to Rāja Bāso that he might take security and release him and a number of his relations who had been captured with him. This through my clemency and kindness came to pass. He had never imagined such clemency and kindness as I showed to him.

“In the bottom of the water, from its clearness, a blind man

Can count the sand-grains in the heart of the night.”

K͟hwāja S͟hamsu-d-dīn Muḥammad K͟hwāfī, who was for long employed as Vizier by my revered father, had made a platform and a reservoir there, into which is led the water from the spring, and thence is used in cultivation and in gardens. On the edge of this terrace he had built a dome for his own burial. By chance his destiny was not there, and (the bodies of) Ḥakīm Abū-l-fatḥ Gīlānī and his brother Ḥakīm Humām, who were close to the person and had the complete confidence of my revered father, were placed in that dome in accordance with his order.

To each of the band of Bug͟hrāʾiyān I gave a dress of honour, and also gave 1,000 rupees to divide amongst themselves. To twelve of the trustworthy courtiers I ordered 12,000 rupees to be given, to be bestowed every Thursday, as long as I was in Kabul, on the poor and needy. I gave an order that between two plane-trees that were on the canal bank in the middle of the garden—to one of which I had given the name of Farāḥ-bak͟hs͟h (joy-giver) and the other Sāya-bak͟hs͟h (shade-giver)—they should set up a piece of white stone (marble?) one gaz in length and three-quarters of a gaz in breadth, and engrave my name thereon (and those of my ancestors) up to Tīmūr. It was set forth on the other side that I had done away with the whole of the customs dues and charges of Kabul, and whichever of my descendants and successors should do anything contrary to this would be involved in the wrath and displeasure of God. Up to the time of my accession these were fixed and settled, and every year they took large sums on this account from the servants of God (the Muhammadan people in general). The abolition of this oppression was brought about during my reign. On this journey to Kabul complete relief and contentment were brought about in the circumstances of my subjects and the people of that place. The good and leading men of G͟haznīn and that neighbourhood were presented with robes of honour and dealt kindly with, and had their desires excellently gratified.

“We have a pleasant physician: come, let as all be ill.”

Ḥakīm ʿAlī, who was his contemporary, exceeded him in skill. In short, in medical skill and auspiciousness and rectitude and purity of method and disposition he was perfect. Other physicians of the age could not compare with him. In addition to his medical skill he had many excellencies. He had perfect loyalty towards me. He built at Lahore a house of great pleasantness and purity, and repeatedly asked me to honour it (with my presence). As I was very fond of pleasing him I consented. In short, the aforesaid Ḥakīm, from his connection with me and being my physician, had great skill in the management of affairs and business of the world, so that for some time at Allahabad I made him Diwan of my establishment. On account of his great honesty he was very exacting in important business, and people were vexed at this method of proceeding. For about twenty years he had ulcerated lungs, and by his wisdom preserved in some measure his health. When he was talking he mostly coughed so much that his cheek and eyes became red, and by degrees his colour became blue. I often said to him: “Thou art a learned physician; why dost thou not cure thy own wounds?” He represented that wounds in the lungs were not of such a nature that they could be cured. During his illness one of his confidential servants put poison into some medicine he was in the habit of taking every day and gave it to him. When he perceived this he took remedies for it. He objected very much to be bled, although this was necessary. It happened that he was going to the privy when his cough overcame him and opened the wounds in his lungs. So much blood poured out of his mouth and brain that he became insensible and fell, and made a fearful cry. An āftābachī (ewer-bearer) becoming aware of this, came into the assembly-room, and seeing him smeared with blood cried out: “They have killed the ḥakīm.” After examining him it was seen that there was no sign of wounds on his body, and that it was the same wound in the lungs that had begun to flow. They informed Qilīj K͟hān, who was the Governor of Lahore, and he, having ascertained the true state of the affair, buried him. He left no capable son.

“If my weeping should cause her to smile, what wonder?

Though the cloud weep, the cheek of the rose-bush smiles.”

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · The MSS. have the 6th stage instead of “last.” ↑Note 2 · This is the famous K͟hān Jahān Lodī of S͟hāh Jahān’s reign. ↑Note 3 · Text, ba dastūr. ↑Note 4 · I.e. built him up in it. ↑Note 5 · Jahāngīr did not like the K͟hānk͟hānān, and so here belittles his services. ↑Note 6 · During S͟hāh Jahān’s reign, K͟hān Jahān Lodī fled from Court, was pursued, and killed. ↑Note 7 · Perhaps the antelope’s name was Rāj, and the syllable man the pronoun ‘my,’ when the translation would be ‘my antelope Raj.’ See Elliot, vi,Note 8 · Perhaps the Jandiāla of the Indian Gazetteer, vii, 137. ↑Note 9 · Indian Gazetteer, v, 239. ↑Note 10 · Text omits the negative. ↑Note 11 · Text, sūsanī; apparently a blue iris. ↑Note 12 · The text has s͟humār wrongly for s͟hiyār, and it seems that the negative of the text is wrong, since it does not occur in the MSS. Abū-l-faẓ Note 13 · Az tikka andāzī; perhaps ‘the cast of a javelin.’ ↑Note 14 · Lit. ‘have joined hands.’ ↑Note 15 · Sih-barga; but this reading seems doubtful; perhaps it is sīr-i-barga, full of leaves. Jahāngīr says that to lay a carpet on the grass would Note 16 · The text has naqs͟h bar jāy, but the true reading seems to be nafīẓtar. ↑Note 17 · ʿIlm-i-k͟halaʿ-i-badan, ‘withdrawal of the soul from the body’ (Erskine). ↑Note 18 · So in text, but the MSS. and Elliot, vi, 307, have “on one of the gates.” ↑Note 19 · The figures seem wrong, and the MSS. differ. See Elliot, vi, 307. Apparently the correct sum in rupees is 34 lakhs 25,000. At p. 61 the khan Note 20 · The MSS. and text have Pila or Pīla. I adopt Tīla from Blochmann, p. 487, note. Elliot has Tillah, vi, 307, and note. ↑Note 21 · In Tolbort’s account of Lūdhiyāna, J.A.S.B. for 1869, p. 86, bhakhra is given as the name of a creeping plant (Pedalium murex). ↑Note 22 · Rūd-k͟hāna; this, according to Blochmann, should be the river Kahan, k͟hāna being a mistake for Kahan. See p. 487 note. But all the MSS. hav Note 23 · See Elliot, vi, 309 note. ↑Note 24 · Būgyāls; Elliot, vi, 309. They are descendants of Sultān Būgā. ↑Note 25 · Paka is mentioned in Tiefenthaler, i, 114. ↑Note 26 · Khor; Elliot, vi, 309 note. Near the Mānikyāla tope. ↑Note 27 · K͟harbūza Sarāy is marked on Elphinstone’s map. ↑Note 28 · Mr. Rogers has “The soul of the fool thou canst purchase for little.” Perhaps the sense is “God grants life to the fool on hard terms.” Ersk Note 29 · Apparently this remark must have been written after Jahāngīr’s visit to Kashmir by the Bāramūla route in the fourteenth year. ↑Note 30 · Bhanwar, as Mr. Lowe has pointed out, means in Hindi an eddy or whirlpool. ↑Note 31 · William Finch says that at Ḥasan Abdāl there were many fish with gold rings in their noses hung by Akbar, and that the water is so clear tha Note 32 · Elliot has Amardī, but the MSS. have Amrohī. The Maʾās̤ir, ii, 755, has Āhrūʾī. See Blochmann, p. 522. ↑Note 33 · Az t̤ag͟hyān farūd āmada. Perhaps the meaning is exactly the opposite, viz. ‘had come down in violence.’ But if so, could a bridge have been Note 34 · According to the Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā, iii, 376, Maʿmūr is a village in Arabia. ↑Note 35 · The MSS. have ṣad instead of chand, i.e. 100. ↑Note 36 · This Āṣaf K͟hān is Qawāmu-d-dīn Jaʿfar Beg and the No. iii of Blochmann, p. 411. Apparently his appointment as Mir Bakhshi was made in 989 (Note 37 · Text baulī, but the MSS. have lūlī, i.e. dancing-girl. ↑Note 38 · Generally spelt ballūt̤, either the oak or the chestnut. Cf. Erskine’s Baber, p. 145. Sir Alexander Burnes calls the ballūt̤ the holly. ↑Note 39 · See below, p. 52, where the Raʾīs or headman of Chikrī is mentioned. ↑Note 40 · Cf. Erskine’s Baber, p. 145. ↑Note 41 · The fort of Pes͟h Bulāq is mentioned in the third volume of the Akbar-nāma, p. 512. It is marked on the map of Afghanistan between Daka and Note 42 · Sic in text, but should be Jaunpūr as in the MSS. ↑Note 43 · There was also a S͟hahr-bānū who was Bābar’s sister. Bīka Begam was Bābar’s widow and the lady who carried his bones to Kabul. ↑Note 44 · Bakafs͟h-pāy, which Erskine renders ‘with slippers on’ and Elliot ‘with his shoes on.’ ↑Note 45 · Bāyazīd Biyāt describes Humāyūn as holding a cooking festival in Badak͟hs͟hān. See A.N., i, translation, p. 496, n. 2. They cooked bug͟hra, Note 46 · The words seem to me to yield 1066, but if we read pajs͟hanba instead of panjs͟hanba we get 1016, which is the Hijra date of Jahāngīr’s entr Note 47 · Evidently a kind of sheep. ↑Note 48 · This is a reference to Bābar’s Memoirs. ↑Note 49 · A juzʾ is said to consist of eight leaves or sixteen pages. Does Jahāngīr mean that he wrote sixty-four pages? ↑Note 50 · Probably the sections which Jahāngīr wrote were those printed in the Ilminsky edition and which bring the narrative down to Bābar’s death. T Note 51 · The text mentions a horse, but the MSS. have not this, and it seems to be a mistake. ↑Note 52 · Apparently the Shorkot of I.G., xii, 424. In the Rechnau Dūāb (Jarrett, ii, 321). It is north of Multan and in the Jhang district. ↑Note 53 · I.G., v, 188. ↑Note 54 · Perhaps the ʿAlī Dūst K͟hān of Blochmann, p. 533. ↑Note 55 · The MSS. have Herat, and this is probably correct. ↑Note 56 · That is, apparently, Mīrzā S͟hādmān, but perhaps the meaning is that Qarācha had sought a wife for his son among the Hazāras, and not that h Note 57 · The MSS. have “less than 1½ gaz by ⅛ (nīm-pāo).” ↑Note 58 · Should, I think, be Tattah, i.e. Sind. ↑Note 59 · G͟haibāna, ‘secretly.’ But the phrase merely means that the appointment was not made in the Emperor’s presence. ↑Note 60 · Text bargas͟ht, ‘he turned round.’ But the MSS. have chi rawis͟h-i-tūzukast, “What kind of arrangement is this?” ↑Note 61 · S͟hams͟hīr-i-sīk͟hakī, ‘pointed sword, poniard’? ↑Note 62 · The meaning of two words being used probably is that both Hindu and Persian astrologers are referred to. Blochmann, p. 311, says that S͟hāh-Note 63 · Lit., “His disposition had changed from equability.” ↑Note 64 · Gīlās is a cherry in Kashmiri. See Blochmann’s Āyīn, p. 616. Abū-l-faẓl mentions in the Āyīn (Blochmann, p. 66) that Akbar called gīlās s͟hā Note 65 · Paywandī means ‘to graft,’ and possibly this is the meaning here, but Steingass gives paywandī as part of the name of a plum. The text seems Note 66 · Text has Yāqūt, but it is clear from the Iqbāl-nāma, p. 25, and from I.O. MS. 181 that the name is K͟hwāja Tābūt, ‘the coffin K͟hwāja.’ The Note 67 · He was appointed governor of Sehwān (Iqbāl-nāma, p. 27). ↑Note 68 · The MSS merely have “of a size that I had never seen before.” Probably the text is corrupt, and the meaning may be “as big as a head.” Bih i Note 69 · I.O. MS. 181 has Qarqara mountains. There is also the reading K͟haraq. ↑Note 70 · Blochmann, p. 31. ↑Note 71 · Dūʾāba is mentioned as a stage by W. Finch. ↑Note 72 · The text omits the word zinda, ‘alive.’ ↑Note 73 · The urdū or camp was probably not with Jahāngīr then, and he thought that if he sent to it for the capture of 500 there would be confusion. Note 74 · Possibly the meaning is “his experience was greater than his skill.” ↑Note 75 · Lit., when he was smooth-faced, i.e. beardless. ↑Note 76 · The I.O. MSS. do not call him governor, and the names of the animals captured differ in the MSS. from those given in the text. The latter ar Note 77 · Erskine has “many of the hounds were destroyed.” Sagān-i-tāzī probably means greyhounds, whether bred in Arabia or elsewhere. ↑Note 78 · Blochmann, p. 377, and Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā, ii, 642. He was an Arg͟hūn. ↑Note 79 · The passage is obscure and the text is corrupt. Erskine’s translation is: “His manners towards the soldiers is frank and gallant, but not ac Note 80 · The peculiarity of this year was that the lunar month and the solar month of Akbar’s birth, viz. Rajab and Ābān, coincided, so that there wa Note 81 · Wajīhu-d-dīn was a famous Gujarat saint. He died in 998. ↑Note 82 · The word used by Jahāngīr, and which has been translated ‘repeat continually,’ is mudāwamat, and Erskine understood it to mean that Jahāngīr Note 83 · Har ahūʾī kih zad bar sar-i-tīr raft. The literal rendering apparently is: “whenever an antelope was struck by him the arrow entered up to i Note 84 · Jalāl K͟hān was a grandson of Sultān Ādam (Blochmann, pp. 455 and 486). ↑Note 85 · See infra for another notice of him in the chapter on Gujrat. ↑Note 86 · One of Jahāngīr’s wives was a daughter of Rāy Rāy Singh (of Bikanir). See Blochmann, p. 310. ↑Note 87 · See Rieu, Cat. ii, p. 634. ↑Note 88 · There is evidently something wrong in the text, for a ruby weighing 6 surkhs could not weigh 2 tanks and 15 surkhs. I.O. MS. 181 has barja i Note 89 · This remark about Mīrzā G͟hāzī, and also the quotation, do not occur in the two I.O. MSS. ↑Note 90 · Blochmann, p. 417. ↑Note 91 · Bayaktā, but the I.O. MSS have batagpāy, ‘rapidly.’ ↑Note 92 · Properly Zainu-d-dīn Maḥmūd. See the story in Badayūnī, Ranking, p. 589; also Akbar-nāma translation, i, 611, and Blochmann, p. 539 and note Note 93 · I do not know if this is the author. There appears to be no mention of the construction in the Akbar-nāma. Nakodar is in the Jalandhar distr Note 94 · K͟hwurd, lit. ‘devoured.’ Apparently he refers to the fact of the birth as a misfortune. I.O. MS. 181 has sar-i-mādar u pidar rā k͟hwurd, an Note 95 · This is given as a quotation in No. 181. ↑Note 96 · This should be the 17th if Monday was the 14th. ↑Note 97 · The MSS. seem to have mutaṣṣil-i-mab-i-chaukandī, ‘in shape like a chaukandī(?).’ It was from the roof of this building that Humāyūn fell. ↑Note 98 · Turg͟hai or turg͟hei is a thrush according to Vambéry, and was the name of Timur’s father. Perhaps the bird was the large mainā, the Bhīmrāj Note 99 · On the 2nd Ẕī-l-ḥijja I gave my son K͟hurram a tūmān u tūg͟h, a flag and drums, and bestowed on him the rank of 8,000 personal and 5,000 hor Note 100 · ʿUmar K͟hān, the grandfather of Salābat K͟hān Farzand, who was cousin of Dilāwar K͟hān, had been treated with respect in the time of Salīm K Note 101 · As I had made up my exalted mind to the conquest of Māwarāʾa-n-nahr (Transoxiana), which was the hereditary kingdom of my ancestors, I desir Note 102 · On Thursday, the 14th, I encamped in the pargana of Chandāla.8 Thence on Saturday, the 16th, making one stage in the middle, I came to Ḥāfiz Note 103 · The waters from the spring Vīr-nāg and of other streams and nullahs that join from right and left form the river Bihat, which passes through Note 104 · In Kashmir there is plenty of water from streams and springs. By far the best is that of the Lār valley, which joins the Bihat in the villag Note 105 · Autumn and Spring in Kashmir are things worthy to be seen. I witnessed the Autumn season, and it appeared to me to be better than what I had Note 106 · On Tuesday the 4th of the month, having travelled four kos and three-quarters, I encamped at Tīla.20 Thence I came down to the village of Bh Note 107 · On Thursday the 6th of the month the halting-place was at Hatyā. On this road many palās-trees (Butea frondosa) were in blossom. This flower Note 108 · Marching on Friday the 7th, I travelled 4½ kos and alighted at the station of Pakka.25 This place is called Pakka because the sarāy is of bu Note 109 · On Saturday the 8th we marched 4½ kos and encamped at the village of Khar.26 Khar in the Ghakkar language is a rent and breakage. There are Note 110 · On Monday the 10th the village of K͟harbūza27 was our stage. The Ghakkars in earlier times had built a dome here and taken tolls from travel Note 111 · “The soul of the fool is doomed to trouble.”28 Note 112 · On Wednesday the 12th the camp was at Bābā Ḥasan Abdāl. One kos to the east of this station there is a waterfall over which the stream rushe Note 113 · In the middle of the basin, in which is the source of the stream, Rāja Mān Singh has erected a small building. There are many fish in the ba Note 114 · On the 15th the halt was at Amrohī.32 It is a wonderfully green place, in which no ups and downs were visible. In this village and its neigh Note 115 · On Monday, the 17th, a march was made, and, with one stage in between, the royal standards alighted near the fort of Attock on the bank of t Note 116 · On the same day Kalyān, son of Rāja Bikramājīt, came from Gujarat. Certain extraordinary proceedings on the part of this rebellious rascal h Note 117 · S͟haik͟h ʿAbdu-r-Raḥmān, son of S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl, was promoted to the rank of 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse, and obtained the title of A Note 118 · First of all I walked round the S͟hahr-ārā (city-adorning), then the Mahtāb (moonlight) garden, then the garden that Bīka Begam, grandmother Note 119 · It is a strange coincidence that (the words) rūz-i-panjs͟hanba hīz͟hdaham-i-Ṣafar,46 Thursday, 18th Ṣafar, which is the date of my entry int Note 120 · I ordered them to inscribe this date on the stone. Near a seat (tak͟ht) on the slope of a hill to the south of the city of Kabul, and which Note 121 · In connection with the account of Kabul the commentaries of Bābar48 passed in view before me. These were in his own handwriting, except four Note 122 · News came that S͟hāh Beg K͟hān, the governor of Qandahar, had reached the parganah of S͟hor,52 which is his jagir. I determined to give Kabu Note 123 · On Friday, the 6th Rabīʿu-l-āk͟hir, I came to the quarters of K͟hurram (S͟hāh-Jahān), which had been made in the Ūrta Garden. In truth, the Note 124 · As I had experienced the excellencies of Kabul, and had eaten most of its fruits, in consequence of important considerations and the distanc Note 125 · I heard at Kabul that in the time of Maḥmūd of Ghazni a person of the name of K͟hwāja Tābūt66 had died in the neighbourhood of Ẓuḥāk and Bām Note 126 · On Thursday, the 15th Arslān Bī, governor of the fort of Kāhmard, who was one of the servants of middle rank (?) of Walī Muḥammad K͟hān, rul Note 127 · On Thursday, the 22nd, having gone to the Bālā Ḥiṣār, I inspected the buildings in that place. As the place was not fit for me I ordered the Note 128 · While I was at Kabul, no qamargāh hunt had taken place. As the time for returning to Hindustan had come near, and I was very desirous of hun Note 129 · Although K͟husrau had repeatedly done evil actions and deserved a thousand kinds of punishment, my fatherly affection did not permit me to t Note 130 · On Saturday, the 22nd Jumādā-l-awwal, the news came of the death of the Ḥakīm Jalālu-d-dīn Muz̤affar Ardistānī, who was of a family of skill Note 131 · On the 24th, between the garden of Wafā and Nīmlah, a hunt took place, and nearly forty red antelope were killed. A female panther (yūz) fel Note 132 · As it was the middle of the day when I arrived at the hunting-place and the air was very hot, the (tāzī) Arabian dogs had been exhausted.77 Note 133 · On Monday, the 14th, I promoted Hās͟him K͟hān, who is one of the household, born ones of our dynasty, to the rank of 3,000 with 2,000 horse,Note 134 · Trustworthy men divided that sum among the twelve chief cities, such as Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Gujarat (Ahmadabad), etc. On Thursday, the 3rd Note 135 · On Tuesday, the 13th, I auspiciously entered Lahore. The next day Mīr K͟halīlu-llah, son of G͟hiyās̤u-d-dīn Muḥammad, Mīrmīrān, who was of t Note 136 · An order was given to the civil department (dīwāniyān) to confer the rank of 8,000 personal and 5,000 horse on my son K͟hurram, and to provi Note 137 · On the same day the envoy of the Sharif of Mecca came to wait on me with a letter and the curtain of the door of the Kaʿbah. He showed great Note 138 · On the 15th the offering of the Khankhanan was presented to me: 40 elephants, some jewelled and decorated vessels, some Persian robes, and c Note 139 · On the 1st of the month of S͟hawwāl I went to visit Maulānā Muḥammad Amīn, who was one of the disciples of S͟haik͟h Maḥmūd Kamāngar (the bow Note 140 · On this day they brought a talking jal (lark) which distinctly said “Miyān T̤ūt̤ī.” It was very strange and wonderful. In Turki they call th