The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)

News came that Daulat Khān1597 and (Apāq) Ghāzī Khān, having collected an army of from 20 to 30,000, had taken Kilānūr, and intended to move on Lāhor. At once Mumin-i-‘alī the commissary was sent galloping off to say, “We are advancing march by march;1598 do not fight till we arrive.”

(Dec. 16th) On Saturday the 1st of the first Rabī‘, we crossed the Sind-water, crossed the water of Kacha-kot (Hārū), and dismounted on the bank of the river.1599 The begs, pay-masters and dīwāns who had been put in charge of the boats, reported that the number of those come with the army, great and small, good and bad, retainer and non-retainer, was written down as 12,000.

The rainfall had been somewhat scant in the plains, but Fol. 254b.seemed to have been good in the cultivated lands along the hill-skirts; for these reasons we took the road for Sīālkot along the skirt-hills. Opposite Hātī Kakar’s country1600 we came upon a torrent1601 the waters of which were standing in pools. Those pools were all frozen over. The ice was not very thick, as thick as the hand may-be. Such ice is unusual in Hindūstān; not a sign or trace of any was seen in the years we were (aīdūk) in the country.1602

(Dec. 23rd) In order to let people get provisions, we stayed the next day in that camp. ‘Araq was drunk on that day. Mullā Muḥ. Pargharī told many stories; never had he been so talkative. Mullā Shams himself was very riotous; once he began, he did not finish till night.

(Dec. 24th) Marching on, we crossed the Bihat-water at a ford below Jīlam (Jīhlam) and there dismounted. Walī Qīzīl (Rufus) came there to see me. He was the Sīālkot reserve, and held the parganas of Bīmrūkī and Akrīāda. Thinking about Sīālkot,Fol. 255. I took towards him the position of censure and reproach. He excused himself, saying “I had come to my pargana before Khusrau Kūkūldāsh left Sīālkot; he did not even send me word.” After listening to his excuse, I said, “Since thou hast paid no attention to Sīālkot, why didst thou not join the begs in Lāhor?” He was convicted, but as work was at hand, I did not trouble about his fault.

(Dec. 25th) Sayyid T̤ūfān and Sayyid Lāchīn were sent galloping off, each with a pair-horse,1605 to say in Lāhor, “Do not join battle; meet us at Sīālkot or Parsrūr” (mod. Pasrūr). It was in everyone’s mouth that Ghāzī Khān had collected 30 to 40,000 men, that Daulat Khān, old as he was, had girt two swords to his waist, and that they were resolved to fight. Thought I, “The proverb says that ten friends are better than nine; do you not make a mistake: when the Lāhor begs have joined you, fight there and then!”

As Buhlūlpūr was khalṣa,1606 we left the road to visit it. Its fort is situated above a deep ravine, on the bank of the Chīn-āb. It pleased us much. We thought of bringing Sīālkot to it. Please God! the chance coming, it shall be done straightway! Fol. 255b.From Buhlūlpūr we went to camp by boat.

(Dec. 29th) On Friday the 14th of the first Rabī‘ we dismounted at Sīālkot. If one go into Hindūstān the Jats and Gujūrs always pour down in countless hordes from hill and plain for loot in bullock and buffalo. These ill-omened peoples are just senseless oppressors! Formerly their doings did not concern us much because the country was an enemy’s, but they began the same senseless work after we had taken it. When we reached Sīālkot, they fell in tumult on poor and needy folks who were coming out of the town to our camp, and stripped them bare. I had the silly thieves sought for, and ordered two or three of them cut to pieces.

Here are the particulars:—‘Ālam Khān, after taking leave of me (in Kābul, 931 AH.), went off in that heat by double marches, regardless of those with him.1609 As at the time I gave him leave to go, all the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns had laid siege to Balkh,Fol. 256. I rode for Balkh as soon as I had given him his leave. On his reaching Lāhor, he insisted to the begs, “You reinforce me; the Pādshāh said so; march along with me; let us get (Apāq) Ghāzī Khān to join us; let us move on Dihlī and Āgra.” Said they, “Trusting to what, will you join Ghāzī Khān? Moreover the royal orders to us were, ‘If at any time Ghāzī Khān has sent his younger brother Ḥājī Khān with his son to Court, join him; or do so, if he has sent them, by way of pledge, to Lāhor; if he has done neither, do not join him.’ You yourself only yesterday fought him and let him beat you! Trusting to what, will you join him now? Besides all this, it is not for your advantage to join him!” Having said what-not of this sort, they refused ‘Ālam Khān. He did not fall in with their views, but sent his son Sher Khān to speak with Daulat Khān and with Ghāzī Khān, and afterwards all saw one another.

‘Ālam Khān took with him Dilāwar Khān, who had come into Lāhor two or three months earlier after his escape from prison; he took also Maḥmūd Khān (son of) Khān-i-jahān,1610 to whom a pargana in the Lāhor district had been given. They seem to have left matters at this:—Daulat Khān with Ghāzī Khān was to take all the begs posted in Hindūstān to himself, indeed he was to take everything on that side;1611 while ‘Ālam Fol. 256b.Khān was to take Dilāwar Khān and Ḥājī Khān and, reinforced by them, was to capture Dihlī and Āgra. Ismā‘īl Jilwānī and other amīrs came and saw ‘Ālam Khān; all then betook themselves, march by march, straight for Dihlī. Near Indrī came also Sulaimān Shaikh-zāda.1612 Their total touched 30 to 40,000 men.

They laid siege to Dihlī but could neither take it by assault nor do hurt to the garrison.1613 When Sl. Ibrāhīm heard of their assembly, he got an army to horse against them; when they heard of his approach, they rose from before the place and moved to meet him. They had left matters at this:—“If we attack by day-light, the Afghāns will not desert (to us), for the sake of their reputations with one another; but if we attack at night when one man cannot see another, each man will obey his own orders.” Twice over they started at fall of day from a distance of 12 miles (6 kurohs), and, unable to bring matters to a point, neither advanced nor retired; but just sat on horseback for two or three watches. On a third occasion they delivered an attack when one watch of night remained—their purpose seeming to be the burning of tents and huts! They went; they set fire from every end; they made a disturbance. Jalāl Khān Jig-hat1614 came with other amīrs and saw ‘Ālam Khān.

Sl. Ibrāhīm did not bestir himself till shoot of dawn from where he was with a few of his own family1615 within his own enclosure (sarācha). Meantime ‘Ālam Khān’s people were busy Fol. 257.with plunder and booty. Seeing the smallness of their number, Sl. Ibrāhīm’s people moved out against them in rather small force with one elephant. ‘Ālam Khān’s party, not able to make stand against the elephant, ran away. He in his flight crossed over into the Mīān-dū-āb and crossed back again when he reached the Pānīpat neighbourhood. In Indrī he contrived on some pretext to get 4 laks from Mīān Sulaimān.1616 He was deserted by Ismā‘īl Jilwānī, by Biban1617 and by his own oldest son Jalāl, who all withdrew into the Mīān-dū-āb; and he had been deserted just before the fighting, by part of his troops, namely, by Daryā Khān (Nūḥānī)’s son Saif Khān, by Khān-i-jahān (Nūḥānī)’s son Maḥmūd Khān, and by Shaikh Jamāl Farmulī. When he was passing through Sihrind with Dilāwar Khān, he heard of our advance and of our capture of Milwat (Malot).1618 On this Dilāwar Khān—who always had been my well-wisher and on my account had dragged out three or four months in prison,—left ‘Ālam Khān and the rest and went to his family in Sult̤ānpūr. He waited on me three or four days after we took Milwat. ‘Ālam Khān and Ḥājī Khān crossed the Shatlut (sic)-water and went into Gingūta,1619 one of the strongholds in the range that lies between the valley and the plain.1620 There our Afghān and Hazāra1621 troops besieged them, and hadFol. 257b almost taken that strong fort when night came on.

Those inside were thinking of escape but could not get out because of the press of horses in the Gate. There must have been elephants also; when these were urged forward, they trod down and killed many horses. ‘Ālam Khān, unable to escape mounted, got out on foot in the darkness. After a lak of difficulties, he joined Ghāzī Khān, who had not gone into Milwat but had fled into the hills. Not being received with even a little friendliness by Ghāzī Khān; needs must! he came and waited on me at the foot of the dale1622 near Pehlūr.

(Dec. 30th) Marching early next day (Rabī‘ I. 15th), we dismounted at Parsrūr. There Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang, Khwāja Ḥusain and several braves waited on me. As the enemy’s camp seemed to be on the Lāhor side of the Rāvī, we sent men out under Būjka for news. Near the third watch of the night they brought word that the enemy, on hearing of us, had fled, no man looking to another.

(Dec. 31st) Getting early to horse and leaving baggage and train in the charge of Shāh Mīr Ḥusain and Jān Beg, we bestirred ourselves. We reached Kalānūr in the afternoon, and there dismounted. Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā and ‘Ādil Sl.1623 came Fol. 258.to wait on me there, together with some of the begs.

(Jan. 1st 1526 AD.) We marched early from Kalānūr. On the road people gave us almost certain news of Ghāzī Khān and other fugitives. Accordingly we sent, flying after those fliers, the commanders Muḥammadī, Aḥmadī, Qūtlūq-qadam, Treasurer Walī and most of those begs who, in Kābul, had recently bent the knee for their begship. So far it was settled:—That it would be good indeed if they could overtake and capture the fugitives; and that, if they were not able to do this, they were to keep careful watch round Milwat (Malot), so as to prevent those inside from getting out and away. Ghāzī Khān was the object of this watch.

(Jan. 2nd and 3rd) After starting those begs ahead, we crossed the Bīāh-water (Beas) opposite Kanwāhīn1624 and dismounted. From there we marched to the foot of the valley of Fort Milwat, making two night-halts on the way. The begs who had arrived before us, and also those of Hindūstān were ordered to dismount in such a way as to besiege the place closely.

Daulat Khān sent to represent to me that Ghāzī Khān hadFol. 258b. fled into the hills, and that, if his own faults were pardoned, he would take service with me and surrender Milwat. Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān was sent to chase fear from his heart and to escort him out; he came, and with him his son ‘Alī Khān. I had ordered that the two swords he had girt to his waist to fight me with, should be hung from his neck. Was such a rustic blockhead possible! With things as they were, he still made pretensions! When he was brought a little forward, I ordered the swords to be removed from his neck. At the time of our seeing one another1625 he hesitated to kneel; I ordered them to pull his leg and make him do so. I had him seated quite in front, and ordered a person well acquainted with Hindūstānī to interpret my words to him, one after another. Said I, “Thus speak:—I called thee Father. I shewed thee more honour and respect than thou couldst have asked. Thee and thy sons I saved from door-to-door life amongst the Balūchīs.1626 Thy family and thy ḥaram I freed from Ibrāhīm’s prison-house.1627 Three krors I gave thee on Tātār Khān’s lands.1628 What ill sayest thou I have done thee, that thus thou shouldst hang a sword on thy either side,1629 lead an army out, fall on lands of ours,1630 and stir strife and trouble?” Dumbfounded, the old man Fol. 259.stuttered a few words, but, he gave no answer, nor indeed could answer be given to words so silencing. He was ordered to remain with Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān.

(Jan. 6th) On Saturday the 22nd of the first Rabī‘, I went myself to safeguard the exit of the families and ḥarams1631 from the fort, dismounting on a rise opposite the Gate. To me there came ‘Alī Khān and made offering of a few ashrafīs. People began to bring out the families just before the Other Prayer. Though Ghāzī Khān was reported to have got away, there were some who said they had seen him in the fort. For this reason several of the household and braves1632 were posted at the Gate, in order to prevent his escape by a ruse, for to get away was his full intention.1633 Moreover if jewels and other valuables were being taken away by stealth, they were to be confiscated. I spent that night in a tent pitched on the rise in front of the Gate.

(Jan. 7th) Early next morning, Muḥammadī, Aḥmadī, Sl. Junaid, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang and Qūtlūq-qadam were ordered to enter the fort and take possession of all Fol. 259b.effects. As there was much disturbance at the Gate, I shot off a few arrows by way of chastisement. Humāyūn’s story-teller (qiṣṣa-khẉān) was struck by the arrow of his destiny and at once surrendered his life.

(Jan. 7th and 8th) After spending two nights1634 on the rise, I inspected the fort. I went into Ghāzī Khān’s book-room;1635 some of the precious things found in it, I gave to Humāyūn, some sent to Kāmrān (in Qandahār). There were many books of learned contents,1636 but not so many valuable ones as had at first appeared. I passed that night in the fort; next morning I went back to camp.