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hall of public audience made by Jafar Khan. He sat in a right royal manner with his companions and ordered the Dewan to read the royal sanads. He ordered rejoicings to be made, and took presents from the residents of the place. His son, Sarfaraz Khan Allauddaula was then two miles distant from the scene of action. Sarfaraz Khan consulted his men as soon as he heard the sourds of rejoicing and was informed of the facts. Without a dissentient voice all said that inasmuch as his father was in possession of the royal sanads and of the state treasury, the only course open to him was to submit. Sarfaraz Khan then rode, and went to his father and, after offering his congratulations, made a present to him. Shujauddaula seated his son on his lap, and confirmed him in his post of Dewan of the Khalsa Sharifa (Government lands) of Bengal. He moreover bestowed favours on his son, and treated him so affectionately and with so much distinction that both he and his mother forgot the death of Jafar Khan and felt resigned to their lot.

It is true that no one loves anybody as much as he does his son. After finishing his domestic business and conciliating the family and relatives of Jafar Khan he busied himself in the management of state affairs and attempted to act independently. In some matters he also consulted Mohammad Ali Verdi Khan and Haji Ahmad Khan. He took the revenue and settlement departments in his hands, and worked with the assistance of Rai Alam Chand, an old, clever, and experienced revenue officer (Dewan). He appointed Jagat Seth Fateh Chand, who was a millionaire and the most famous banker of his time, as a cashier of the state and companion. He made himself the head of the judicial department and personally disposed of civil cases. Once in a week he heard the parties and administered even-handed justice. It was therefore that the public was very grateful to him. He summoned before him many of the Zamindars and Talukdars of Bengal who were all along in prison since the time of Jafar Khan; gave a patient hearing to them, and released them on the security of Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and their taking oaths of allegiance. He not only released them from confinement but also conferred khilat upon them according to their respective positions in society. Such acts of magnanimity and philanthropy made him exceedingly popular. This reign was very peaceful. He appointed his son-in-law Murshid Quli Khan Bahadur Rustam Jang the administrator of Jahangirnagar, Dacca. He appointed Syed Ahmad Khan, son of Haji Ahmad, the Faujdar of Rangpore. Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan, the youngest son of Haji Ahmad and son-in-law of Mahābat Jang, was appointed the Faujdar of Rajmahal and Nawazish Muhammad Khan, the nephew and eldest son-in-law of Mahabat Jang, the Bakhshi of the army. Mohammad Ali Khan Mahabat Jang, Haji Ahmad, Alam Chand and Jagat Seth Fateh Chand had a hand in all administrative and revenue matters and did their work properly. It was at this time that Fakhruddaula was transferred by the order of the Emperor from the Subedarship of Behar. Shujauddaula took this opportunity of asking the Emperor for a sanad in his own name appointing him the Subedar of Behar. He then appointed his son Alauddaula Sarfaraz Khan to act as his deputy. But Zebunnissah, the daughter of Jafar Khan and wife of Shujauddaula, was unwilling to separate her son from her and consequently asked her husband to appoint Mohammad Ali Verdi Khan Mahabat Jang to act as the Subedar of Behar as a deputy of her son Sarfaraz Khan. The said Khan was then summoned at the entrance to the female department. Zebunnissah then had an elephant, a palki with an embroidered covering and jewels given to, and a magnificent khilat confered upon, Ali Verdi Khan by her son Sarfaraz Khan. At her instance Ali Verdi Khan became the recipient of these very things at the hands of Shujauddaula as well. Shujauddaula also gave the Khan the office of Panj Hazari, the title of Mahabat Jang Bahadur and the privilege of keeping the flag (Alam) and the band (Nakkara). Thus it was that Mahabat Jang left for Behar in state. With the permission of Shujauddaula, Mahabat Jang took his two sons-in-law with him, and leaving Murshidabad reached Azimabad (Patna). He successfully administered the province of Behar and after one year returned to Murshidabad. He waited on Shujauddaula, was received by him warmly, and then returned to his province. Mahabat Jang's short administration.of Behar was a great success. He subdued the unruly Zamindars and rewarded those who were loyal and submissive. He filled the posts with able and competent men, and provided himself with all that is necessary for a man in his position. He managed to keep himself in the good books of Shujauddaula, till at last the latter died at the time of the entry of Nadir Shah in Shahjahanabad.

Allauddaula Sarfaraz Khan.

Allauddaula Sarfaraz Khan, the son of Shujauddaula and the grandson of Jafar Khan, succeeded to the masnad of Viceroyalty of Bengal, Behar and Orissa after his father's death and busied himself in the management of the affairs of the province according to his own lights. Though he did not interfere with Rai Alam Chand, with Haji Ahmad or with Jagat Seth Fateh Chand, yet Mir Murtaza, Haji Latf Ali Khan and Mardan Ali Khan who were his old friends and who owed Haji Ahmad a grudge, always spoke ill of him. They represented the enmity and opposition that really existed between Haji Ahmad and themselves and poisoned the mind of Allaud laula against Haji Ahmad to such an extent that Allauddaula at last took from him the seal of Dewani which had been with him from Shujauddaula's time and made it over to Mir Murtaza. Feeling greatly insulted, Haji Ahmad wrote to his brother all that had happened to him. Mahābat Jang saw the change and confusion that had taken place in the affairs of the Indian Empire. After Shujauddaula's death he saw that the time was most opportune for furthering the treacherous designs that he had entertained. He therefore secretly applied through Mohammad Ishak Yar Khan, who was at that time a great favourite of Mohammad Shah Badshah and was an old friend of Mahabat Jang, to obtain the Viceroyalty of Bengal, Behar and Orissa in his own name from the time of the death of Shujauddaula and he also promised to pay one crore of rupees as Peshkash and to send all the wealth and money of Shujauddaula's house. His request was granted by the King and he sent the Sanad of Viceroyalty to him. He now began to entertain the idea of ruling Bengal and of killing the son of his own master. Apart from this, the [complaints of his brother Haji Ahmad who had been writing to him all that was transpiring at Murshidabad and the information given him by treacherous persons like Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and other nobles of Murshidabad who had joined him were the chief cause of his enmity with Sarfaraz Khan. Mahābat Jang began to muster an army and to collect weapons of war on the pretext of marching aginst the zamindars of Bhojpore, till one year and one month of the rule of Allauddaula had elapsed. With a view to fight with Sarfaraz Khan he marched out of the city of Azimabad and encamped near the tank of Waris Khan. He summoned all the young and old Hindus and Muhammadans before him. When all had assembled he gave the Quoran in the hands of the Muhammadans and Ganga water in the hands of the Hindus and asked them to take oaths of allegiance. He said :-" I am going to fight with my enemy. I wish to have a solemn declaration from such trustworthy and old friends as yourselves for my satisfaction. If you wish to remain my friends and help me you should solemnly declare it on oath that you would not refuse to follow me even if I plunge into fire or water, that you would remain enemies of my enemies and friends of my friends and that you will be ever ready to help me." The officers of the army, who together with the soldiers were the sincere friends and real well-wishers of Mahabat Jang, gladly accepted the conditions and took very strict oaths on the Quoran and Ganga water. Unanimously and as if with one voice, they exclaimed loudly that they were ready to accept his friendship and to show their bravery. The new employers followed suit and entered into a solemn agreement and became ready to accept the friendship of Mahabat Jang. Having obtained security on this point he disclosed the real fact to them. He related to them how Sarfaraz Khan had been disgracing his brother and himself and then informed them of his intentions. As they had already entered into the solemn compact they had no alternative but that of believing his statements and helping him. The Darbar ended in the evening. The next morning, having left his son-in-law Zainuddin Khan as his naib in Patna, he marched towards Murshidabad. The arrangements regarding the way were so strict that no letter reached Murshidabad at that time and no traveller could outdistance him. When he reached the Pass of Shahabad, to pass through which would have been very difficult in case of the opposition of its keepers, he left his army in the valley and sent Mustafa Khan Afghan with two hundred horses and footmen together with the Parwana and Dastak which bore the seal of Sarfaraz Khan and which had been sent ere this, to call a certain Jamadar to Murshidabad. He represented the Parwana to be a passport for his army and ordered Mustafa Khan to enter the Pass after showing it to its keepers, who were about a hundred or two hundred footmen and Barkandazes, and sound the drum of his camel after reaching that place. Mustafa Khan acted upon the order. When he arrived near the Pass, the keepers, as usual, ordered him to stop. Mustafa Khan sent the Dastak and the Parwana through a follower of his. The Mutasaddi (clerk) of the Pass ordered the Pass to be opened after seeing the Parwana and Dastak and allowed the men to enter. Having entered it, Mustafa Khan gave the appointed signal and sounded the drum loudly. On hearing this, the vanguard of Mahabat Jang's army advanced in a body from the valley with much splendour. The keepers were confused and were about to move when Mustafa Khan cried with a loud voice: "Take care: budge an inch and you will receive due punishment; all of you will be killed on the spot." Confused and perplexed all remained where they were and the men of Mustafa Khan opened the gate of the Pass. The vanguard of Mahabat Jang entered the Pass and the same day Jagat Seth Fateh Chand got Mahābat Jang's letter. Jagat Seth on calculating the days from the time Mahābat Jang

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