The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
History
The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan, 1483-1530; Mogul Empire
Well-known it is that when he once recited that couplet in Maulānā
`Abdu'r-raḥmān _Jāmī's_ presence, the honoured Mullā asked him whether
he was reciting verse or frightening people. He put a _dīwān_ together;
_mas̤nawīs_ of his are also in existence.
Muḥammad-i-walī Beg was another, the son of the Walī Beg already
mentioned. Latterly he became one of the Mīrzā's great begs but, great
beg though he was, he never neglected his service and used to recline
(_yāstānīb_) day and night in the Gate. Through doing this, his free
meals and open table were always set just outside the Gate. Quite
certainly a man who was so constantly in waiting, _would_ receive the
favour he received! It is an evil noticeable today that effort must be
made before the man, dubbed Beg because he has five or six of the bald
and blind at his back, can be got into the Gate at all! Where this sort
of service is, it must be to their own misfortune! Muḥammad-i-walī Beg's
public table and free meals were good; he kept his servants neat and
well-dressed and with his own hands gave [Sidenote: Fol. 174b.] ample
portion to the poor and destitute, but he was foul-mouthed and
evil-spoken. He and also Darwīsh-i-`alī the librarian were in my service
when I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (Oct. 1511 AD.); he was palsied then;
his talk lacked salt; his former claim to favour was gone. His assiduous
waiting appears to have been the cause of his promotion.
Bābā `Alī the Lord of the Gate was another. First, `Alī-sher Beg showed
him favour; next, because of his courage, the Mīrzā took him into
service, made him Lord of the Gate, and promoted him to be a beg. One of
his sons is serving me now (_circa_ 934 AH.), that Yūnas of `Alī who is
a beg, a confidant, and of my household. He will often be
mentioned.[1100]
Badru'd-dīn (Full-moon of the Faith) was another. He had been in the
service of Sl. Abū-sa`īd Mīrzā's Chief Justice Mīrak `Abdu'r-raḥīm; it
is said he was very nimble and sure-footed, a man who could leap over
seven horses at once. He and Bābā `Alī were close companions.
Ḥasan of `Alī _Jalāīr_ was another. His original name was Ḥusain
_Jalāīr_ but he came to be called `Alī's Ḥasan.[1101] His father `Alī
_Jalāīr_ must have been favoured and made a beg by Bābur Mīrzā; no man
was greater later on when Yādgār-i-muḥammad M. took Herī. Ḥasan-i-`alī
was Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā's _Qūsh-begī_.[1102] He made T̤ufailī
(Uninvited-guest) his pen-name; wrote good odes and was the Master of
this art in his day. He wrote odes on my name when he came to my
presence at the time I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (1511 AD.). Impudent
(_bī bāk_) and [Sidenote: Fol. 175.] prodigal he was, a keeper of
catamites, a constant dicer and draught-player.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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