The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)

March by march we moved on to Guzar.1283 There we tried again to discuss with the Arghūns but, paying no attention to us, they maintained the same obstinate and perverse attitude. Certain well-wishers who knew the local land and water, represented to me, that the head of the torrents (rūdlār) which come down to Qandahār, being towards Bābā Ḥasan Abdāl and Khalishak,1284 a move ought to be made in that direction, in order to cut off (yīqmāq) all those torrents.1285 Leaving the matter there, we next day made our men put on their mail, arrayed in right and left, and marched for Qandahār.

Shāh Beg and Muqīm had seated themselves under an awning which was set in front of the naze of the Qandahār-hill where I am now having a rock-residence cut out.1286 Muqīm’s men pushed forward amongst the trees to rather near us. T̤ūfān Arghūn had fled to us when we were near Shahr-i-ṣafā; he now betook himself alone close up to the Arghūn array to where one named ‘Ashaqu’l-lāh was advancing rather fast leading 7 or 8 men. Alone, T̤ūfān Arghūn faced him, slashed swords with him, unhorsed him, cut off his head and brought it to me as we were passing Sang-i-lakhshak;1287 an omen we accepted! Not thinking it well to fight where we were, amongst suburbs and trees, we went on along the skirt of the hill. Just as we had settled on ground for the camp, in a meadow on the Qandahār side of theFol. 209. torrent,1288 opposite Khalishak, and were dismounting, Sher Qulī the scout hurried up and represented that the enemy was arrayed to fight and on the move towards us.

As on our march from Qalāt the army had suffered much from hunger and thirst, most of the soldiers on getting near Khalishak scattered up and down for sheep and cattle, grain and eatables. Without looking to collect them, we galloped off. Our force may have been 2000 in all, but perhaps not over 1000 were in the battle because those mentioned as scattering up and down could not rejoin in time to fight.

Though our men were few I had them organized and posted on a first-rate plan and method; I had never arrayed them before by such a good one. For my immediate command (khāṣa tābīn) I had selected braves from whose hands comes work1289 and had inscribed them by tens and fifties, each ten and each fifty under a leader who knew the post in the right or left of the centre for his ten or his fifty, knew the work of each in the battle, and was there on the observant watch; so that, after mounting, the right and left, right and left hands, right and left sides, charged right and left without the trouble of arraying them or the need of a tawāchī.1290

Fol. 209b.(Author’s note on his terminology.) Although barānghār, aūng qūl, aūng yān and aūng (right wing, right hand, right side and right) all have the same meaning, I have applied them in different senses in order to vary terms and mark distinctions. As, in the battle-array, the (Ar.) maimana and maisara i.e. what people call (Turkī) barānghār and jawānghār (r. and l. wings) are not included in the (Ar.) qalb, i.e. what people call (T.) ghūl (centre), so it is in arraying the centre itself. Taking the array of the centre only, its (Ar.) yamīn and yasār (r. and l.) are called (by me) aūng qūl and sūl qūl (r. and l. hands). Again,—the (Ar.) khāṣa tābīn (royal troop) in the centre has its yamīn and yasār which are called (by me) aūng yān and sūl yān (r. and l. sides, T. yān). Again,—in the khāṣa tābīn there is the (T.) būī (nīng) tīkīnī (close circle); its yamīn and yasār are called sūng and sūl. In the Turkī tongue they call one single thing a būī,1291 but that is not the būī meant here; what is meant here is close (yāqīn).

The right wing (barānghār) was Mīrzā Khān (Wais), Sherīm T̤aghāī, Yārak T̤aghāī with his elder and younger brethren, Chilma Mughūl, Ayūb Beg, Muḥammad Beg, Ibrāhīm Beg, ‘Alī Sayyid Mughūl with his Mughūls, Sl. Qulī chuhra, Khudā-bakhsh and Abū’l-ḥasan with his elder and younger brethren.

In the centre (ghūl), on my right hand, were Qāsim Kūkūldāsh, Khusrau Kūkūldāsh, Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī, Shāh Maḥmūd the secretary, Qūl-i-bāyazīd the taster, and Kamāl the sherbet-serverFol. 210. server; on my left were Khwāja Muḥammad ‘Alī, Nāṣir’s Dost, Nāṣir’s Mīrīm, Bābā Sher-zād, Khān-qulī, Walī the treasurer, Qūtlūq-qadam the scout, Maqsūd the water-bearer (sū-chī), and Bābā Shaikh. Those in the centre were all of my household; there were no great begs; not one of those enumerated had reached the rank of beg. Those inscribed in this būī1292 were Sher Beg, Ḥātim the Armoury-master, Kūpuk, Qulī Bābā, Abū’l-ḥasan the armourer;—of the Mughūls, Aūrūs (Russian) ‘Alī Sayyid,1293 Darwīsh-i-‘alī Sayyid, Khūsh-kīldī, Chilma, Dost-kīldī, Chilma Tāghchī, Dāmāchī, Mindī;—of the Turkmāns, Manṣūr, Rustam-i-‘alī with his elder and younger brother, and Shāh Nāz̤ir and Sīūndūk.

Some estimated the dark mass of Arghūns1294 at 6 or 7000 men; no question whatever but that Shāh Beg’s own men in mail were 4 or 5000. He faced our right, Muqīm with a force smaller may-be than his brother’s, faced our left. Muqīm made a mightily strong attack on our left, that is on Qāsim Beg from whom two or three persons came before fighting began, to ask for reinforcement; we however could not detach a man because in front of us also the enemy was very strong. We made our onset without any delay; the enemy fell suddenly on our van,Fol. 210b. turned it back and rammed it on our centre. When we, after a discharge of arrows, advanced, they, who also had been shooting for a time, seemed likely to make a stand (tūkhtaghāndīk). Some-one, shouting to his men, came forward towards me, dismounted and was for adjusting his arrow, but he could do nothing because we moved on without stay. He remounted and rode off; it may have been Shāh Beg himself. During the fight Pīrī Beg Turkmān and 4 or 5 of his brethren turned their faces from the foe and, turban in hand,1295 came over to us.

(Author’s note on Pīrī Beg.) This Pīrī Beg was one of those Turkmāns who came [into Herī] with the Turkmān Begs led by ‘Abdu’l-bāqī Mīrzā and Murād Beg, after Shāh Ismā‘īl vanquished the Bāyandar sult̤āns and seized the ‘Irāq countries.1296

Our right was the first to overcome the foe; it made him hurry off. Its extreme point had gone pricking (sānjīlīb)1297 as far as where I have now laid out a garden. Our left extended as far as the great tree-tangled1298 irrigation-channels, a good way below Bābā Ḥasan Abdāl. Muqīm was opposite it, its numbers very small compared with his. God brought it right! Between it and Muqīm were three or four of the tree-tangled water-channels going on to Qandahār;1299 it held the crossing-place and allowed no passage; small body though it was, it made splendid stand Fol. 211.and kept its ground. Ḥalwāchī Tarkhān1300 slashed away in the water with Tīngrī-bīrdī and Qaṃbar-i-‘alī. Qaṃbar-i-‘alī was wounded; an arrow stuck in Qāsim Beg’s forehead; another struck Ghūrī Barlās above the eyebrow and came out above his cheek.1301

We meantime, after putting our adversary to flight, had crossed those same channels towards the naze of Murghān-koh (Birds'-hill). Some-one on a grey tīpūchāq was going backwards and forwards irresolutely along the hill-skirt, while we were getting across; I likened him to Shāh Beg; seemingly it was he.

Our men having beaten their opponents, all went off to pursue and unhorse them. Remained with me eleven to count, ‘Abdu’l-lāh the librarian being one. Muqīm was still keeping his ground and fighting. Without a glance at the fewness of our men, we had the nagarets sounded and, putting our trust in God, moved with face set for Muqīm.

Shāh Beg and Muqīm could not get into Qandahār when they took to flight; Shāh Beg went towards Shāl and Mastūng (Quetta), Muqīm towards Zamīn-dāwar. They left no-one able to make the fort fast. Aḥmad ‘Alī Tarkhān was in it together with other elder and younger brethren of Qulī Beg Arghūn whose attachment and good-feeling for me were known. After parley they asked protection for the families of their elder and younger brethren; their request was granted and all mentioned were encompassed with favour. They then opened the Māshūr-gate of the town; with leaderless men in mind, no other was opened. At that gate were posted Sherīm T̤aghāī and Yārīm Beg. I went in with a few of the household, charged the leaderless men and had two or three put to death by way of example.1302

I got to Muqīm’s treasury first, that being in the outer-fort; ‘Abdu’r-razzāq Mīrzā must have been quicker than I, for he was just dismounting there when I arrived; I gave him a few things from it. I put Dost-i-nāṣir Beg, Qul-i-bāyazīd the taster and, of pay-masters, Muḥammad bakhshī in charge of it, then passed on into the citadel and posted Khwāja Muḥammad ‘Alī, Shāh Maḥmūd and, of the pay-masters, T̤aghāī Shāh bakhshī in charge of Shāh Beg’s treasury.

Fol. 212.Such masses of white money had never been seen in those countries; no-one indeed was to be heard of who had seen so much. That night, when we ourselves stayed in the citadel, Shāh Beg’s slave Saṃbhal was captured and brought in. Though he was then Shāh Beg’s intimate, he had not yet received his later favour.1304 I had him given into someone’s charge but as good watch was not kept, he was allowed to escape. Next day I went back to my camp in Farrukh-zād Beg’s Chār-bāgh.

I gave the Qandahār country to Nāṣir Mīrzā. After the treasure had been got into order, loaded up and started off, he took the loads of white tankas off a string of camels (i.e. 7 beasts) at the citadel-treasury, and kept them. I did not demand them back; I just gave them to him.

On leaving Qandahār, we dismounted in the Qūsh-khāna meadow. After setting the army forward, I had gone for an excursion, so I got into camp rather late. It was another camp! not to be recognized! Excellent tīpūchāqs, strings and strings of he-camels, she-camels, and mules, bearing saddle-bags (khurzīn) of silken stuffs and cloth,—tents of scarlet (cloth) and velvet, all sorts of awnings, every kind of work-shop, ass-load after ass-load of chests! The goods of the elder and younger (Arghūn) brethren had been kept in separate treasuries; out of each had come chest upon chest, bale upon bale of stuffs and clothes-in-wear (artmāq artmāq), sack upon sack of white tankas. In aūtāgh and chādar (lattice-tent and pole-tent) was much spoil for every man soever; many sheep also had been taken but sheep were less cared about!

I made over to Qāsim Beg Muqīm’s retainers in Qalāt, underFol. 212b. Qūj Arghūn and Tāju’d-dīn Maḥmūd, with their goods and effects. Qāsim Beg was a knowing person; he saw it unadvisable for us to stay long near Qandahār, so, by talking and talking, worrying and worrying, he got us to march off. As has been said, I had bestowed Qandahār on Nāṣir Mīrzā; he was given leave to go there; we started for Kābul.

There had been no chance of portioning out the spoils while we were near Qandahār; it was done at Qarā-bāgh where we delayed two or three days. To count the coins being difficult, they were apportioned by weighing them in scales. Begs of all ranks, retainers and household (tābīn) loaded up ass-load after ass-load of sacks full of white tankas, and took them away for their own subsistence and the pay of their soldiers.

A few days later a servant of Nāṣir Mīrzā brought the news that Shaibāq Khān had come and laid siege to Qandahār. That Muqīm had fled to Zamīn-dāwar has been said already; from there he went on and saw Shaibāq Khān. From Shāh Beg also one person after another had gone to Shaibāq Khān. At the instigation and petition of these two, the Khān cameFol. 213. swiftly down on Qandahār by the mountain road,1305 thinking to find me there. This was the very thing that experienced person