A. D. 1412-1526.

and on the day preceding his departure in the stately mosk, erected by Shâh Fîrûz on the banks of the Jumnah, "he offered up to the Divine Majesty the sincere and humble tribute of grateful praise.'

Laden with plunder, and dragging myriads of captives with him of all ranks, and of both sexes, he moved northwards to Meerut, where, as usual, there was a general massacre. He then crossed the Ganges, and marched to where that river leaves the mountains, near Hardwar, and then westwards, along the foot of the mountains as far as Jummoo, north of Lahore; he then turned to the south, and leaving India by the usual route, proceeded to make preparations for marching into Anterior Asia, to encounter the Ottoman sultan Bayazîd. His visitation of India, which lasted about a year, had been like that of a destroying angel; he left behind him anarchy, famine, and pestilence.

Mahmûd returned to Delhi, but he could recover no authority. After his death (1412) the government was administered in an imperfect manner, in the name of Timûr, by Khizr Khân, the governor of the Punjâb. As Khizr was a Syud, or descendant of the Prophet, the dynasty of himself and his three successors is named that of the Syuds.

The limits of the empire, under these princes, were reduced almost to the capital; and Alâ-uddîn, the last of them, was glad to resign the throne to Behlôl Khân Lôdi, the possessor of the Punjâb, and retire to Budâyun, a town about 100 miles east of Delhi (1450).

Behlôl belonged to the Afghân tribe of Lôdi. His grandfather, Ibrahim, was a wealthy merchant, who repaired to the court of Shâh Fîrûz, by whom he was appointed governor of Multân. His sons rose to power and command; and his grandson made himself master of the Punjâb, when the feeble Syuds attempted to destroy the Lôdi family; and the last of them, as we have seen, was obliged to resign to him the throne of Delhi. During an active reign of thirty-nine years, Behlôl gave to the empire once more respectable limits. It now reached the Himalaya on the north, the Ganges and Benâres on the east.

Ferishta relates, that while Behlôl was yet a young man, and in a private station, his future dignity had been prophetically announced to him. As he was paying his respects one day to a renowned Dervish, the latter, while Behlôl was sitting before him, cried out, in a fit of enthusiasm, "Who will give me two thousand rupees for the empire of Delhi?" Behlôl replied, that he had only sixteen hundred in the world, but that he would give them; and, sending for them, he presented them to the holy man, who, laying his hand on his head, saluted him king. Behlôl, when ridi"culed by his comrades for his folly, replied, that "if the thing came to pass, he had made a cheap purchase; if not, the blessing of a holy man could do him no harm." When he attained the empire, he divided his treasures among his friends, and lived with them on terms of the greatest familiarity. He very rarely could be induced to mount his throne, saying, that "it was enough for him that the world knew he was a king, without his making a vain parade of royalty." Though not learned, he patronised literature, and was liberal to men of letters.

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Secunder Lôdi, the son and successor of Behlôl, was also a man of talent, and in general, just and liberal. It is, however, in his reign, that we first meet with religious bigotry exercised against the Hindoo religion; for it is remarkable, how tolerant the conduct of the Mohammedan rulers of India had been hitherto. Secunder destroyed the Hindoo temples, and forbade pilgrimages, and the practice of bathing on festivals in the sacred streams. A Bramin, in a dispute with a Moslem, who reproached him with idolatry, having replied, that "he considered the same God to be the object of all worship, and therefore held the Mohammedan and Hindoo religions to be equally good," the bigoted Moslem summoned him before the Câzi, or judge of the city. The king hearing of it, assembled the principal doctors of religion to consider the matter, and they decided that the Bramin should have the option of conversion or death. He refused to abandon his own more humane creed, and died a martyr to his faith. A pious Moslem ventured to remonstrate with Secunder, against his prohibition of pilgrimages. "Wretch," cried he, drawing his sword, "do you defend idolatry?" “No,” replied he, "but I maintain that kings ought not to persecute their subjects." The monarch was appeased. When Secunder, on one occasion, was marching against one of his brothers, a Calender, or religious mendicant, prayed for his success. "Pray for victory to him," replied he, "who will best promote the good of his subjects. Secunder died in 1509, having reigned nearly twenty years.

His son, Ibrahim, who succeeded, possessed none of his virtues, but courage. His pride was insufferable; one of his maxims was, that kings have no relations, all are alike his slaves. The Ômrahs, of the tribe of Lôdi, who used to have the privilege of sitting in the royal presence, were now obliged to stand by the throne, with their hands crossed before them. This conduct of the monarch naturally led to insurrections and rebellions. Ibrahim was at first successful in suppressing them, but at length (1524) Doulat Khân Lôdi, governor of the Punjâb, called to his aid Bâber, a prince of the house of Timûr, who now was ruling in Câbul; and Bâber, who had already, as the representative of Timûr, put forth claims to the empire of India, cheerfully obeyed the call. He defeated an army which opposed him, took Lahore and some other towns, and was on his way to Delhi, when commotions in Balkh recalled him to Câbul. Having composed them, he returned to India, and at Pânîput, on the road to Delhi (1526), he encountered the army of sultan Ibrahim, said to contain 100,000 men, with 1000 elephants. As Bâber's force did not exceed 12,000 men, he resolved to act on the defensive. He linked his cannon together with ropes of twisted leather, with infantry behind, and breastworks in front; he also protected his flanks with works. Ibrahim, likewise, fortified his position; but, instead of awaiting an attack, he attempted to storm the enemy's lines. The result was a repulse, then a defeat and total rout. The earth was covered with the bodies of the slain, among which lay that of sultan Ibrahim. With him terminated the rule of the Afghâns in India, and the throne fell to the house of Timûr, the greatest and the last of the Mohammedan dynasties, which have ruled in that extensive region.

C

CHAPTER VI.

Sultân BÂBER-His Early Adventures-Conquest of India -His Character-HUMAYUN-His Flight from India--Birth of Akber-Humâyun's Adventures-He recovers Câbul And India-His Death-Sheer Shâh-SelîmMohammed.

BÂBER, the founder of the Mogul empire in India,

was sixth in descent from Timûr. His father was

Omar Sheykh Mirza, who was married to a Mogul princess of the family of Chingiz. In the division of his father's dominions, while Bokhara and Samarcand fell to one of his brothers, Balkh to another, and Câbul to a third, the portion of Bâber was the rich and fertile Ferghâna on the Upper Jaxartes. Bâber was only twelve years old when (1494) the death of his father left him a throne and a war with two of his uncles. The deaths of these princes favoured him, and in the confusion which ensued, this monarch of fifteen years ventured to attempt the conquest of Samarcand, and though he failed more than once, he was finally successful (1497).

9

of

age

His ambition, however, was beyond his means; while he was engaged in Samarcand, one of his principal officers, named Tambol, revolted in Ferghâna, and after a reign of only one hundred days, Bâber was obliged to quit Samarcand, which immediately cast off its obedience. A severe fit of illness now brought him to the very point of death, and when he recovered, he found Ferghâna lost as well as Samarcand. Still he did not despair; with some slight aid from his Mogul uncle, he succeeded in recovering Ferghâna (1499), and while thus occupied, he received invitations to return to Samarcand, but ere he reached it, he learned that both it and Bokhara had been occupied by the Uzbegs, who now were rising into power Meantime Tambol had recovered Ferghâna, and Bâber was now obliged to seek refuge in the rugged mountains to the south of that country. Hearing while there, that Shybânee, the Uzbeg Khân, was gone on an expedition, he resolved, though with only 240 followers, to make another attempt on Samarcand. He entered it by night, mastered the guards, and the citizens rose in his favour. The whole country now declared for him, and Shybânee was forced to retire to Bokhara. In vain Bâber tried to prevail on the neighbouring princes to unite for their common interests against the Uzbegs. He was forced to give them battle alone, and owing to the baseness of his Mogul troops, who quitted the field to plunder the baggage, he was totally defeated. He then shut himself up within the walls of Samarcand, whence, after having endured siege and famine during four months, he was obliged once more to seek his safety in flight.

Bâber now spent nearly two years in poverty and distress. So low was he brought, that he had nearly determined to retire to China, and there pass the remainder of his days in obscurity. He succeeded, however, once more in recovering Ferghâna; but Tambol called in the Uzbegs, and Bâber, after maintaining an obstinate contest in the streets of the city, was forced to fly, and in his flight he was captured. He, however, regained his liberty, but the whole of the country beyond the Oxus being 9 The Uzbegs were Turks, with a mixture of Mongols. They still possess the country beyond the Oxus.

now in the hands of the Uzbegs, he took a last farewell of his favourite Ferghâna, and proceeded to try his fortune in more southern regions. He entered Bactria with not more than between two and three hundred followers, most of them only armed with clubs, and two tents, of which the best was reserved for his mother. But the army there declared for him, and at the head of it he entered Câbul (1504), which submitted at once, and of which he never again lost possession. It may surprise those who look through the preceding sketch of Bâber's exploits and adventures, to learn that he was not yet three-and-twenty years of age; but such is the real fact.

Contests with his old enemies the Uzbegs, with the mountain tribes of Afghanistan, and with his relations of the house of Timûr, occupied Bâber for many years, and he ran risks at times equal to any he had encountered in his early days. length he turned his thoughts toward India, and became, as we have seen, the sovereign of that country.

At

After the battle of Pânîput, Delhi and Agra opened their gates to the conqueror. But the whole of the country to the east, in which various Afghân chiefs were more or less independent, remained yet to be subdued. The summer, too, came on so excessively hot that his troops were unable to endure it, and they clamoured to be led back to Câbul, and some were even preparing to return without leave. Bâber then assembled his officers, and representing to them, that as India had been the great object of their labours, it would be a disgrace to abandon it now, he added, that he would remain, but that all who wished might return to Câbul. This firmness had the desired effect on the greater number, though some would not remain. Most of the Afghân chiefs, then, finding from this that Bâber's was not, like Timûr's, a mere transient invasion, but that he was resolved to remain in the country, now made their submission, and others were reduced by Bâber's son Humâyun.

The Mussulmans having thus submitted, or been reduced, Bâber had now to take the field against the Hindoos. Sanga, rajah of Mêwâr, joined by other rajahs and by Mahmûd, a prince of the house of Lôdi, advanced with a large army to Sikri, within twenty miles of Agra. The advanced guard of Baber's army was driven back with great loss, but with the usual want of strategic skill characteristic of the Hindoos, the victors, instead of pushing on and completing the victory, retired, and suffered him to take up a position and fortify it. Unluckily for Bâber there just then happened to arrive in his camp a celebrated astrologer, who from the aspect of the planet Mars announced a total defeat to the royal army. The spirits of both officers and men were depressed by this untoward prediction, and desertion began to prevail. Bâber, though he despised it, saw its dangerous efficacy; he, therefore, to counteract it, had recourse to religion; he repented of his sins, forswore the use of wine, vowed to let his beard grow, and to remit taxes, and then assembling his officers, made a strong appeal to their sense of honour. They swore on the Korân to conquer or die: he then drew up his army in front of his camp, and galloped from right to left along the line, encouraging the soldiers. The Hindoos advanced to the attack, but were to

tally routed; several of the rajahs fell, and Sanga escaped with difficulty. After the victory the astrologer approached to congratulate the sultan, but Bâber poured on him a torrent of abuse, then giving him a large present, he ordered him to quit his dominions (1527).

The reduction of Hindoo rajahs and Afghân chiefs now occupied the active sultan, and success uniformly attended him. As the Afghân king of Bengal seemed resolved to retain North Bahâr, which belonged to the crown of Delhi, Bâber crossed the Ganges at the head of an army; he then passed the Gagra, behind which the Bengalese army was posted, and speedily drove it off the field, and the king of Bengal was glad to sue for peace. Bâber then pursued a body of Afghâns who had seized the city of Lucknow in Oude. They retired at his approach, and a division of his troops chased them over the Ganges and the Jumnah (1528).

This was the last of sultan Bâber's military exploits. He seems now to have fallen into ill-health, and his death was brought on in the following unusual manner. His son Humâyun was attacked by a severe disease, the physician had given him over, when Bâber, according to a superstition of the East, declared that he would devote his own life for that of the prince. He accordingly walked three times round the bed of the patient, and then spent some moments in prayer, and so strong thence grew his assurance of success, that he repeatedly cried out, "I have borne it away." From that hour the health of Humâyun began to improve, and that of Bâber to decline. Feeling the approach of death, he called his sons and his ministers about him, and explained to them his last wishes, enjoining concord and unanimity. He then breathed his last (Dec. 26th, 1530), in the fiftieth year of his age, the thirty-eighth of his reign, and the fifth of his residence in India.

The character of sultan Bâber is the most pleasing that is to be met with in Oriental history. It is also the one with which we are best acquainted, for we possess his autobiography, memoirs actually written by himself, in which his thoughts and his feelings are displayed as well as his actions.

Here

we become acquainted with his love for plants and flowers, his unaffected admiration of beautiful landscapes, his relish for simple and natural pleasures, his social and amiable temper, his kind and affectionate heart, and his cheerful and buoyant disposition, which no reverses of fortune could overcome. It is very pleasing to hear him telling how he never enjoyed himself more than when, after he had been obliged to quit Samarcand, he at length got a full meal, a quiet night's sleep, and a temporary release from toil and care.

Humayun succeeded his able father; but a plan had been formed for excluding him and giving the crown to another; for Khalifah, the vizir of Bâber, over whose mind he had attained great influence, in order to retain his power, had resolved to set aside his master's own sons, and give the throne to his son-in-law, Mehdi Khaja, a vain, thoughtless young man. Every thing had been arranged, and they were only waiting for the death of Bâber, when suddenly Khalifah threw Mehdi | into prison, and declared for Humayun. The cause was as follows:-As Khalifah was one day visiting Mehdi, he was summoned to the emperor, who was

19

supposed to be dying. Mehdi attended him with the utmost respect to the door, but as soon as he was out of hearing he muttered to himself, " God willing, I will soon flay your hide off, old boy." Turning round, he saw one standing behind him he was confounded; but seizing the witness's ear, he gave it a twist, saying, hurriedly, "Mind, the red tongue often gives the green head to the winds." The menace, however, did not avail him ; his want of caution lost him the crown.

Humayun's reign commenced with the separation of Câbul from India. His brother, Câmrân, who was governor of the former country, refused to submit to him, and he was obliged to acknowledge his independence, and to make the Indus the boundary between their respective dominions. Insurrections of some of the Afghân chiefs in India succeeded, but they were easily suppressed. A war then followed with Bahadur Shâh, the Afghân king of Gûzerât, who had lately conquered Mâlwa, and whose supremacy was acknowledged by the Mohammedan princes of the Deckan. The war was commenced without provocation by Bahâdur. When Humayun entered Gûzerât, he found the enemy posted in an intrenched camp, well supplied with artillery, which was directed by a Turk from Constantinople, and some Portuguese prisoners— the first mention of Europeans in India. Humâyun, however, by cutting off his supplies, obliged him to destroy his guns, and fly in the night, leaving his army to shift for itself. He fled to Cambay, and thence to the little isle of Diu. The open country readily submitted to Humâyun, but the hill-fort of Champaner long held out. At length, one night 300 chosen men, among whom was the emperor himself, scaled it, by fixing iron spikes in the perpendicular rock, while the army made an attack on one of the gates, and it thus was taken (1535).

The

Humâyun was soon obliged to quit Gûzerât, and take the field against the most formidable of his opponents. This was Sheer Khân, one of the Afghân chiefs in India, a man of considerable talent, who, by taking advantage of the unsettled state of the country, had made himself master of Bahâr, and was now engaged in the conquest of Bengal, the capital of which, named Gour, he was besieging when Humayun commenced operations against him, on his return from Gûzerât. In order to check the advance of the monarch, and thus gain time for the reduction of Bengal, Sheer Khân placed a strong garrison in the fort of Chunâr, on the Ganges, south of Benâres, well supplied, and with directions to hold out to the uttermost. siege accordingly lasted several months. At length the place surrendered, and Humayun pursued his march unimpeded along the Ganges, and crossing that river he entered Gour, from which city Sheer Khân had retired, after having reduced it. the rainy season had now commenced; the country was one sheet of water, no operations could be carried on, and the soldiers suffered severely from the damp, unhealthy climate. After a delay of several months, Humâyun found it necessary to commence his retreat. But Sheer Khân had recovered Chunâr and Benâres; he was master of all Bahâr, his posts extended up the Ganges as far as Canouj; he was now engaged in the siege of Juanpûr; and, as a further proof of his power, he at this time assumed the title of king (1538).

But

A. D. 1545-53.

creed itself, Humâyun does not appear to have been so compliant, for next day, when Tahmasp, going on a journey, passed by Humayun's palace, and the latter went to the gate to salute him, he went on without noticing him. A few days after, when a large quantity of firewood was sent him, he was told that it would serve for his funeral pile, if he refused to conform. To his request to be allowed to proceed on his pilgrimage a decided negative was returned; and it was added, that he must become a Shiah, or take the consequence.

At length Humâyun's resolution gave way, and he signed a paper containing a profession of the Shiah faith, with, probably, an engagement to introduce it into India, and an undertaking to put the king of Persia in possession of Candahâr, if recovered by his aid, for which purpose Tahmasp promised a force of 12,000 horse. After some delay Humâyun set out (1545) with 700 followers, and in Sîstan he was joined by 14,000 Persian horse, commanded by the Shâh's son, Morad Mîrza. They took the fort of Bost on the river Helmund, and thence marched unopposed to Candahâr, which Askeri defended against them for five months. As none of the chiefs of the country had yet joined Humâyun, the Persians were talking of raising the siege and retiring; but just then partizans began to come in, and the garrison suffering from famine, a part of it fled from the town, while others deserted to the besiegers. Askeri was thus obliged to surrender, and the fort and its treasures were ceded to the Persians. The greater part of the army then returned home, leaving a garrison under Morad Mîrza; but that prince happening, as we are told, to die suddenly, Humâyun contrived to get into the town, where he slaughtered a part of the garrison, and, as a great favour, allowed the remainder to depart.

Humayun then advanced to Câbul, whence Câmrân fled, but while the former was away on another expedition, he returned and recovered that city, and when Humayun besieged him, he had the barbarity to expose the young Akber to the fire of his father's cannon. He was, however, forced to fly; he then surrendered, and was forgiven; he rebelled again, defeated Humâyun, and recovered Câbul, whence he was again expelled. He finally (1553) sought refuge with the Guckers, by whom he was given up to his brother. Humayun for the first two or three days treated him with kindness. He then determined that he should be blinded. The operation was performed, as usual, by piercing the eyes repeatedly with lancets. This he bore patiently; but when lemon-juice and salt were squeezed into his eyes he cried out, "O Lord my God! whatever sins I have committed have been amply punished in this world; have compassion on me in the next." He went to Mecca, where he died.

૬

Circumstances in India now proving favourable, Humayun was encouraged to attempt the recovery of that country. He reduced the Punjâb (1555), and a victory at Sirhind opened the way to Delhi and Agra. He did not, however, long live to enjoy his dominion. About six months after his return to Delhi, as he was walking on the terrace of his library, and was descending the stairs (which were on the outside of the building), he heard the call to prayers. He stopped, repeated the creed, and then sat down on the steps, till the crier should

21

have ceased. When he went to rise by the aid of his staff, it slipped on the marble, and he fell over the low parapet of the stairs. He was stunned by the fall, and on the fourth day he breathed his last, in the forty-ninth year of his eventful life, and the twenty-sixth of his reign.

We must now take a retrospect of India during the sixteen years' absence of Shâh Humâyun.

Sheer Shah, having taken possession of the Punjâb, and suppressed a rebellion in Bengal, turned his arms against the southern Hindoo states, and reduced Mâlwa. He afterwards besieged the fortress of Raîsîn, which was held by a Hindoo chief. A surrender was offered on condition of the garrison being allowed to depart with all their property. The terms were agreed to, and 4000 Řajpûts issued and encamped within a short distance. But Sheer Shâh was induced by the arguments of some Mohammedan lawyers to break the treaty, and he surrounded them with his troops and commenced a general massacre. The Rajpûts fell to a man, but not unavenged, as double the number of the assailants lay dead on the plain. No Mohammedan prince, but Timûr, had as yet been guilty of such an atrocity in India, and it ultimately proved the cause of the death of its perpetrator. For, as he was besieging the fort of Calinger, where the rajah refused to accept of any terms, as he was sure they would not be kept, and was himself directing the artillery, a magazine, struck by one of the enemy's shot, blew up, and he was so much injured by the explosion that he only survived a few hours. In this interval the fort was taken, and Sheer Shâh, who had not ceased to direct the operations, cried, like Epaminondas and Wolfe, "Thanks be to Almighty God!” and breathed his last (1545).

Though Sheer Shâh reigned only five years, he made more internal improvements in the state than most monarchs had done who had occupied the throne for long periods. His principal work was a magnificent causeway extending from Bengal to near the Indus, with caravanserais furnished with provisions at every stage, and wells at every mile and half, and mosks supplied with priests and criers. Along the whole length of this road were planted rows of trees to yield the traveller shade. He was also the first to establish horse-posts along the roads, for the despatch of intelligence and of letters. It was said, that so great was the public security during his reign, that travellers and merchants used to set down their goods and sleep on the highway without apprehension.

Adil Khân, the eldest son of Sheer Shâh, being a prince of a feeble character, was induced to resign his claims in favour of his brother Jelâl Khân, on condition of getting the country of Biana. Four of the principal Ômrahs were guarantees of this agreement, and when Selîm (the name which Jelâl assumed) gave reason to suppose that he meant to violate it, they took up arms against him. He, however, reduced them, and the rest of his reign passed in tranquillity.

On the death of Selîm (1553), his only son, a child of twelve years of age, was murdered by his uncle Mohammed Khân, who then mounted the throne. He proved a monarch of a most odious character, ignorant, fond of low society, and addicted to gross debauchery. His prime minister was a Hindoo, named Hêmoo, who had originally