A still greater dispersion of the Afgháns took place after the murder of Lodí, and Mun'im Khán took advantage of the opportunity to advance against the Súba of Bihár. Sháh Akbar proceeded from Agra to Patna, the inhabitants of which place he put to the sword. Sháh Dáúd remained a few days in the fort of Patna. At last Katlú gave him some narcotic draught,1 put him into a boat, and then escaped with him on the river Ganges. At this period Akbar captured many elephants. Many Afgháns, who were with Gújar Khán, were drowned in the Panpan river, about two kos from Patna. Akbar pursued Dáúd as far as Daryápúr, and returned from thence, having first laid the foundation of a mosque in that place; whilst Mun'im Khán, accompanied by the best officers, continued the pursuit of Dáúd. Several encounters took place between Sháh Dáúd and Mun'im Khán. My heart urges me to give a detailed relation of these events, but I must be brief. At last Dáúd and Mun'im Khán made peace, and met at Mun'im Khán's tents, confirming the truce by the grasping of hands.

The changeful climate of Bengal caused the plague to break out in the Mughal army which remained at Gaur; many distinguished officers gave up their lives into the hands of the angel of death. Mun'im Khán also died of that epidemic.' Shah Dáúd again issued forth after the death of Mun'im Khán, in whose place Khán Jahán Khán was appointed governor. War again broke out between these two chiefs; and on the 15th day of the month Rabí'u-s sání, in the year of the Hijra 988,3 the army of the Mughals being firmly determined either to slay Dáúd or fall themselves, met him in the battle-field; where, after many valiant rencontres, the Kálá Pahár, or “Black Mountain," who led the advanced guard of the Afgháns, was repulsed and

1 This was, as we learn from the Makhsan-i Afghání and Táríkh-i Khán-Jahán, because he was opposed to his nobles, with respect to the necessity either of immediate flight or surrender.

2 Firishta, following Abú-1 Fazl, dates Mun'im Khan's death on the 9th of Rajab, 983 A.H. (12th October, 1575 A.D.).

3 [Sic.; but see the chronogram in the next page, which makes it 983, with which Firishta agrees.]

slain. The Afgháns were then put to flight.' Dáúd Shah Kirání was brought in a prisoner, his horse having fallen with him. Khán Jahán, seeing Dáúd in this condition, asked him if he called himself a Musulmán, and why he had broken the oaths which he had taken on the Kur'an and before God. Dáúd answered that he had made the peace with Mun'im Khán personally; and that if he had now gained the victory, he would have been ready to renew it. Khán Jahán ordered them to relieve his body from the weight of his head, which he sent to Akbar the King.

The date of this transaction may be learnt from this verse.Mulk i Sulaimán zi Dáúd raft (983 H., 1575 A.D.).

From that period the dominion of Hindustán departed from the tribe of Afgháns, and their dynasty was extinguished for ever. In lieu of which arose the star of Akbar Shah's supremacy over the whole country.

1 All these events will be considered in greater detail under the events of the Tímúrian period.

2 The Makhzan-i Afghání represents that this defeat was entirely owing to the treachery of Katlú Lohání, who was rewarded by the settlement upon him of some parganas, by withdrawing from the field at a favourable juncture. Dáúd is said by the same authority to have been slain in action. All this is confirmed in the Tarikh-i Khán-Jahán. Dáúd Shah is also said in the Makhzan-i Afghání to have been distinguished by his integrity and propriety of behaviour; but we find nothing in history to warrant this eulogium. It does not appear that the power of the Lohání Afgháns entirely expired with Dáúd Sháh, for we find his younger brother, Khwaja 'Usmán, maintaining a fruitless struggle for twenty years against the Mughals, which was not finally concluded till A.H. 1021, in the reign of Jahangir. The treacherous Katlú also, as was to have been expected, turned his arms against those to whom he had sold his country. More will be found respecting these transactions in the Tárikh-i Khán-Jahán and the Tímúrian histories by any one anxious to extend his inquiries.

33

VOL. IV.

514

APPENDIX.

A. NOTES ON THE MATLA’U-S SA’DAIN.

[THE Editor is indebted to Col. H. Yule for some notes on the Matla'u-s Sa'dain, which did not reach him in time for insertion in their proper place.

Page 96. "The ninety cities of the islands of Diwah-Mahall." For Sir H. M. Elliot's reading Col. Yule considers the words of Quatremère's MS. to be preferable, viz., Shahr-i nau, or "New city," a name by which Siam was known to the Malays and the mariners of the Persian Gulf in the middle ages.

"This is a phrase translated from the Malay,

P. 96. "Zírbád." meaning below the wind,' or leeward,' and is applied by the Malays to the countries east of the Straits of Malacca. The expression occurs in the 'Ain-i Akbarí, Blochmann's translation, p. 91, but the true meaning is not there given to it." It is also used in the well-known Bágh-o Bahár, and there it seems to apply to Burmah and other countries between India and the Straits.

P. 103. "Bandána." "In spite of Bandana handkerchiefs, there is no such port as this in Malabar. I have no doubt the real word is 'Fandaraina' or 'Fandarána.”’ See note in Journ. Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iv., p. 345. Quatremère's reading was "Bendianeh." The MS. of the East India Library agrees with Sir H. Elliot's reading &

Bandána.

P. 113. "Zaitún." "This is the name of the Chinese city whence satin was brought, hodie Thsiuancheu or Chincheu, and my belief is that our word satin came from Zaitún."

P. 124. "Báknúr." "This reading of one of the MSS. is the correct one. It is the port in Northern Malabar, called Baccanore by our old voyagers."-See Cathay, and the Way thither.

B.-ODES OF 'UNSURI.

[Abú-1 Kásim Hasan bin Ahmad 'Unsurí, of Balkh, rose to a high position by the exercise of his poetical talents. He was one of the poets entertained at the Court of Mahmud of Ghazní. They are said to have been 400 in number. He was reckoned their chief, and it was his duty to read and report upon the productions of the poets who sought for the patronage of the Sovereign. He wrote a series of Odes describing the victories of the Ghaznivides, of which the following is an Extract, translated by Sir H. M. Elliot. He died in 431 or 441 H. (1039 or 1049 A.D.).]

Ode in praise of Sultán Mahmud Ghazniví.-Jaipál.-Multán.Thánesar.-The display of booty from India.

Oh! thou who hast heard of the virtues of kings from history, come hither and clearly discern the virtue of the Khusrú of Irán. If thou regardest his face, thou wilt find it more auspicious than that of the sun. If thou regardest his wealth, thou wilt find it more abundant than the sand of the desert or the drops of a shower. The son resembles the father; for when the matter is so excellent that which proceeds from it must be equally so. In whatever business he undertakes, he acts like a hero; he is swift to hunt lions; the line of his army is as indissoluble as a ring; when he rides he is as much a part of his horse as sugar dissolved in milk forms one liquid. The eye of day is blinded by the dust raised by his steed; from its neighing the ear of heaven is deafened. His family around him are like the army of Yájúj; his troops are as firm as the wall of Sikandar. With his body erect, his heart filled with revenge, his sword drawn, he resembles an enraged male lion pursuing its prey. The attack of the King of the World has exterminated his enemies root and branch, as the blast when it destroyed the tribe of 'Ad. The foundations of his fort are as strong as iron, and its bastions are as lofty as heaven. When men walk along its ramparts, you would say they were taking their way along the galaxy.

Thou hast heard the account of Jaipál, the King of the Hindus, who was exalted above the other chiefs of the world. His army

was more numerous than the stars of heaven; the stones on the face of the earth did not equal it, or the drops of rain. His soldiers had so imbrued their hands in blood, that their swords were as red as the morning dawn. Hadst thou seen his spears gleaming, like tongues of flame through black smoke, thou wouldst have said his host was dispersed in the wilderness of hell. Sense fled from the brain at fear of him; and the light of the eye was confounded. The Lord of Khurásán dispersed in his attack the whole of that army on the plain of Peshawar. Thou knowest the history of his expedition to Multán, or if thou knowest not, consult the "Crown of Victories." 1 In the Sháh-náma will be read the story of Faridún crossing the Tigris without a boat. The tale may be true, or it may not be true; if thou knowest it to be not true, put no faith in the narrative. But [Mahmúd] crossed the Chandáha, the Síhún, the Rahwáli, and Behat, yet he had neither boat nor anchor, notwithstanding that thought could not fathom their depth, and the breeze was unable to pass over their breadth. On his road to Multán he took two hundred forts, each of which was a hundred times stronger than Khaibar.3 As the King passed from the right to the left, he dispersed all his foes, and in his contempt regarded them as vile. Their armour was shattered, their bodies wounded, their hopes depressed, their swords broken, their hearts confounded, their shields cast away. Vestiges of the blood of his enemies, which the Sháh spilt, still remain in that country, for its air is full of clouds and its soil bright red. He marred the beautiful gardens of Gang and Thanesar, because they were places of pilgrimage to the Hindus. He threw down the idol's head at the entrance of the plain of Ghaznín, because it was, as it were, the helmet of Hind. The enemy's blood will flow for years over the wide plains of that country. The mother who has witnessed the battles of that region will bring forth no more children through affright; for the feet of the camels and the swords of the warriors are yet red with the blood of the inhabitants.

No one, except God the giver, can rightly enumerate the booty

1 The famous work by Abú-1 Fazl Baihakí,

2 The Chinab, the Indus, the Ráví, and the Jelam.

3 A famous fortress in Arabia.