Mughal Emperor Jahangir

“ They have no occasion for fear or favour, and mercilessly expose the failings of their contemporaries. Not that they are to be trusted any more than other Orientals when speaking of themselves. Bābar has suppressed the story of his vassalage to Shah Ismaʿīl, of his defeat at Ghajdawān, and his treatment of ʿĀlam Lodi; and Jahāngīr has glossed over his rebellion against his father, and the circumstances of Shīr-āfgan’s death. But when they have to speak of others—whether kings or nobles—they give us the whole truth, and perhaps a little more. ”

“ Nūr Jahān Begam also gave him a dress of honour, a horse, and an elephant, as is the custom. To Mahābat K. and the other Amirs, according to their standing, horses, elephants, and dresses of honour were presented. The immediate attendants of the prince were also honoured with favours. On this day Muz̤affar K. received a dress of honour on appointment to the post of chief Bakhshi. On the first of the Divine month of K͟hurdād Prince Dāwar-bak͟hs͟h, s. K͟husrau, was appointed to Gujarat, and K͟hān Aʿz̤am to the high dignity of tutor to him. ”

“ The details of this are that when, by means of the good fortune of the late king Akbar, the country of Gujarat was conquered, and Nabū fell into his hands, Iʿtimād K͟hān represented that he was the son of a carter. As no son was left by Sult̤ān Maḥmūd, and moreover there was no one of the descendants of the Sultans of Gujarat whom he could raise to the throne, he (Iʿtimād) had accepted the most available course, and had made out that this was the son of Maḥmūd. He gave him [430] the name of Sult̤ān Muz̤affar, and raised him to the sovereignty. Men from necessity consented to this. ”

“ A year before I became king I had determined that I would drink no wine on Friday eve, and I hope at the throne of God that He will keep me firm in this resolve as long as I live.
Twenty thousand rupees were given to Mīrzā Muḥammad Riẓā Sabzwārī to divide amongst the faqirs and the needy of Delhi. The viziership of my dominions I gave in the proportions of half and half to K͟hān Beg,46 to whom when I was prince I had given the title of Wazīru-l-mulk, and to Wazīr K͟hān47 (Muqīm) , and I gave to S͟haik͟h Farīd Buk͟hārī, who held the rank of 4,000, that of 5,000. ”

“ He would place himself on a wall or tree near which an elephant was passing that had killed its mahout and broken loose from restraint, and, putting his trust in God’s favour, would throw himself on its back and thus by merely mounting, would bring it under control and tame it. This was repeatedly seen.
He ascended the throne in his 14th year. Hemū, the infidel whom the Afghan ruler had raised to high station, collected a wonderful force after King Humāyūn’s death with a stud of elephants such as no ruler of Hindustan had at that time, and he went towards Delhi. ”

“ By his counsel I had come to Ajmir, and this neighbourhood had been thus honoured and dignified. Now that he had himself prayed for the prince, and everything had been carried out according to his counsel, why did he withdraw his foot from the field of battle and enter the place of disagreement? To Bābā K͟hurram, from whom up till now I had never parted, and whom I sent in pure reliance on his (K͟hān Aʿz̤am’s) knowledge of affairs, he should show loyalty and approved good-will, and never be neglectful day or night of his duty to my son. ”

“ K͟hān-k͟hānān, and many of the Amirs who had accompanied him on the road of rebellion and rascality, such as Himmat K., Sar-buland K., S͟harza K. ʿĀbid K., Jādo Rāy, Ūday Rām, Ātas͟h K., Manṣūr K., and other mansabdars, who were attached to the Deccan, Gujarat, and Malwa, the recital of whom would take too long, and all his own servants, such as Rāja Bhīm, s. Rānā, Rustam K., Bairam Beg, the Afghan Daryā, Taqī, and others whom he had left to confront the royal army. There were five2 armies (corps?) ”

“ As no horses could go on the road, by way of precaution he took some with him, but left [136] nearly20 all his sipahis’ horses behind, and sent them to Kashmir (i.e., Srinagar) . The young men girded the belt of duty on their waists, and went up the hills on foot. The g͟hāzīs of the army of Islam fought from post to post with the ill-fated unbelievers as far as Narkot, which was one of the enemy’s strongholds. There the corps of Jalāl and Jamāl, which had been sent by different roads, met, and the enemy, not having the power to oppose them, took to flight. ”

“ Shortly after, one of the lamp attendants who was acquainted with the Wazīru-l-mulk gave him the news of K͟husrau’s flight. The Vizier took him to the Amīru-l-umarā, who, as the news seemed true, came in a distracted state of mind to the door of the private apartments and said to one of the eunuchs, “Take in my request and say that I have a necessary representation to make, and let the king honour me by coming out.” As such an affair had not entered my thoughts I supposed that news had come from the Deccan or Gujarat. When I came out and heard what the news was, I asked, “What must be done? ”

“ In consequence of his destruction, Bī-daulat did not gird his loins again. One might say his good fortune and courage and understanding lay in that dog of a Hindu. When, with a father like me, who in truth am his ostensible creator, and in my own lifetime have raised him to the great dignity of Sultanship, and denied him nothing, he acts in this manner, I appeal to the justice of Allah that He may never again regard him with favour. Those servants who in this disturbance had done fitting service were honoured with more and more favours, each according to his degree. ”

“ It is the custom among the Hindus that after the death of their husbands women burn themselves, whether from love, or to save the honour of their fathers, or from being ashamed before their sons-in-law, but nothing like this was ever manifested on the part of mothers, Musulman or Hindu. On the 15th of the same month I presented my best horse by way of favour to Rāja Mān Singh. S͟hāh ʿAbbās had sent this horse with some other horses and fitting gifts by Minūchihr, one of his confidential slaves, to the late king Akbar. ”

“ On Monday,1 the 27th Rabīʿu-l-āk͟hir, A.H. 1030 (10 March, 1621) , the sun that bestows bounty on the world lit up the abode of fortune of Aries with his world-illuminating light, and gladdened the world and its inhabitants. The sixteenth year of the reign of this suppliant at the throne of Allah commenced with gladness and victory, and at the auspicious hour and blessed time I sat on the throne of success in the capital of Agra. On this joy-enhancing day my fortunate son S͟hahriyār lifted up his head with the honour of the mansab of 8,000 and 4,000 horse. ”

“ Saʿīd K͟hān, who was at Bhakar (Bukkur) , received an order to console him and bring him to Court. The aforesaid K͟hān sent men to him to recommend loyalty to him. At last, having brought him to Agra, he procured him the honour of kissing the feet of my revered father. He was at Agra when my father died and I ascended the throne. After I arrived at Lahore for the pursuit of K͟husrau news came that the Amirs on the borders of Khurasan had assembled together and proceeded against Qandahar, and that S͟hāh Beg, the governor of that place, was shut up in the fort and looking out for assistance. ”

“ In order to please him and strengthen his [279] promises and oath, he took him inside the female apartment and made a confidant36 of him, and brought his own wife and son to him, and made use of all kinds of entreaty and lamentation. The gist of his (S͟hāh Jahān’s) remarks was: “My times are hard, and my position difficult; I make myself over to you, and make you the guardian of my honour. You must act so that I no longer undergo contempt and confusion.” The K͟hān-k͟hānān, with a view to bring about peace, parted from Bī-daulat and proceeded to the royal army. ”

“ Indeed, we may go further and say there is twice as much matter in them as in Bābar’s Memoirs, and that they are by far the most entertaining of the two works. Not that Jahāngīr was by any means as remarkable a man as his great-grandfather. He was a most faulty human being, and his own account of himself often excites our disgust and contempt. But he had the sense not to confine his narrative to an account of himself, and he has given us a picture of his father, the great Akbar, which is a bigger ‘plum’ than anything in Bābar’s Memoirs. ”

“ All Muhammadans have a fancy for writing chronicles and autobiographies, and several Muhammadan [x] kings have yielded to the common impulse. Central Asia has given us the Memoirs of Tamarlane, Bābar, and Ḥaidar, and the chronicle of Abu-l-ghazi; Persia has given us the Memoirs of Shah Tahmasp, and India the Memoirs of the Princess Gulbadan and Jahāngīr. In modern times we see the same impulse at work, for we have the biography of the late Ameer of Afghanistan and the diary of the Shah of Persia. ”